LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Shelf 9 ...?.'■ • 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



Standard Manual 



SUNDAY SCHOOL WORKERS. 



V 

IE 1 . IMT, O-IEfcZEIEILsr, 

Sunday School Secretary of the General Christian Missionary Convention. 



" Thought, too, delivered, is the more possessed ; 
Teaching, we learn, and giving, vre receive, " 



$ ,< r 






CINCINNATI : 

CHASE & HALL, Publishers, 
1878. 



tr 



4^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S7S, by 
F. M. GREEN. 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



Stereotyped by Campbell & Co. 



PREFACE. iii 



PREFACE, 



I shall not attempt, in these prefatory sentences, to record 
in detail the many reasons which have urged me on to the com- 
pletion of this book. 

It is the result of an earnest and conscientious purpose and 
study to materially benefit those for whom it is specially pre- 
pared. I ask for it a candid examination and a judgment upon 
its merits. 

Its scope and purpose can best be learned by an examination 
of the Table or Contents, and a careful study of the book. 

Part I. is intended not only fur Sunday-school workers, but 
for all learners in the school of Christ, youthful or aged. 

Part II. is for those who need and desire special information 
in regard to the place and purpose, organization and manage- 
ment, and methods of the Sunday-school, etc. 

It is a difficult task to give direct credit to persons, books, 
tracts, and papers from whence much that is found in these 
pages is derived. I intend to give "honor to whom honor is 
due." I therefore ask each one to consider himself as meant, 
and accept my thanks for anything which he can claim as his 
own which has been reproduced on these pages. 

To President B. A. Hinsdale, Isaac Errett, Robert Moflfett, 
and Ira J. Chase, I am greatly indebted for the chapters on 
Christian Evidences, The Proper Division of the Word, 
The Bible Dispensations, and The Jewish Tabernacle. 

I now offev and dedicate this little volume to the kind friends 
who have helped me with no unwilling hand in its preparation, 
and to the multitude of my fellow-workers in the various fields 
of Sunday-school activity, who have honored me in many ways 
and at many times with their confidence and esteem. 

I send the book out upon its mission, trusting that it will lead 



iv THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

no one into harmful ways, and that its influence will be good, 
and only good. 

And if a single soul shall be freighted with a "burden of de- 
sire" to stand "approved unto God" in what belongs to Chris- 
tian life and labor by its study, and by acting upon its sugges- 
tions, I shall have a rich reward. 

THE AUTHOR. 

Cincinnati, O., April, 1873. 



NOTE, 



In the preparation of this work, the following books, etc., have been con- 
sulted, and free, but considerate, use made of them : viz., On Christian Evi- 
dences— History of the Transmission of Ancient Books to Modern Times, 
by Isaac Taylor; A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New 
Testament, by B. F. Westcott ; The Evidences of the Genuineness of the 
Gospels, by Andrew Norton ; VVben were our Gospels written ? And Origin 
of the Four Gospels, by Constantine Tisehendorf ; The Genuineness and 
Authenticity of the Gospels, by B. A. Hinsdale. 

On Interpretation, Bible History and Chronology, Bible Geogra- 
phy, Bible Manners and Customs, and Miscellaneous— Elementary 
Principles of Interpretation, by J. A. Ernesti, Stuart's Translation ; Adam's 
Synchronological Chart of History ; Hurst's Outline of Bible History ; Pre- 
paring to Teach ; Normal Class Manual ; Kitto's History of the Bible ; Maga- 
zine Normal Class Series; Smith's Dictionary of the Bible; Scripture 
Manners and Customs; The Sunday School Idea, Hart; Church School and 
its Officers, J. H. Vincent; Review Exercises in the Sunday School, H. C. 
Trumbull; The Blackboard in the Sunday School, Frank Beard; The Sab- 
bath School Index, Pardee; Art of Questioning, Fitch ; The Sunday School 
Times and the Sunday School World, 



CONTENTS. 



CONTENTS. 



Chap. I. — Christian Evidences. 

Introduction— New Testament Teaching Classified— Historical Authen- 
ticity -Literary Evidences — Testimony of Eusebius— Three Earlier Ecclesi- 
astical Writers— Ancient Canons and Versions — Method of Investigation — 
The Canon Settled— Conclusion— Early Witnesses to the Gospel Arranged in 
the Order of Time Pages 7-32. 

Chap. II. — Interpretation. 

What Interpretation is— Difficulties in the Way of Successful Interpreta- 
tion—Requisites of a Good Interpreter — Rules for Interpretation — The 
Proper Spirit Pages 33-37. 

Chap. III. — The Proper Division of the Word. 

The Apostolic Rule— The Character of the Books of the Bible— The Num- 
ber of the Books— The First Important Rule— The Old and the New Con- 
trasted— Three-fold Division of the Old Testament — What the Old Testament 
Contains— The Three Dispensations— The Uses of the Old Testament— The 
New Testament— The Uses of the New Testament — The Gospels — The Acts 
of Apostles — The Apostolical Epistles— The Revelation— Conclusion. 
Pages 38-59. 

Chap. IV. — Bible History and Chronology. 

Characteristics of Bible History — Its Value and Interest— Time Covered 
by Bible History — The Three Periods— Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian — 
Events of the First Period— Events of the Second Period— Events of the 
Third Period— Noah and His Family— Events in Jacob's Life- Moses — The 
Ten Plagues— The Exodus and Its Results— Joshua as a Leader— The Period 
of the Judges— The Reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon — The Kingdoms of 
Israel and Judah — The Major Prophets — The Minor Prophets— Time Em- 
braced by the Books of the Old Testament — The Life of Jesus— The Zeal of 
Paul— The Victory of the Church.... Pages 60-77. 

Chap. V. — The Bible Dispensations. 

General Statements — The Covenant of Life and Liberty— The Covenant 
with Noah— The Covenant Concerning Abraham and His Posterity— The 
Coveuant Concerning Christ — The Covenant with Abraham Concerning His 
Inheritance — The Covenant of Circumcision — The Covenant of Horeb— The 
New Covenant — Ihe Differences Between the Christian and Jewish Dispen- 
sations— Starlight, Moonlight, and Sunlight Pages 78-93. 



vi THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Chap. VI. — The Jewish Tabernacle. 

God Furnished the Pattern— How the Materials were Provided — Type and 
Symbol — The Tabernacle and Court — The Laver — The Tabernacle and Golden 
Lamp-stand— The Table of Shew Bread— Its Use— The Golden Altar— The 
Model Church— The Beautiful Veil— The ttoly of Holies Pages 94-111. 

Chap. VII. — Bible Geography. 

Classification— The Territory Embraced— The Different Names Given to 
the Holy Land — Mountains — Seas and Rivers — Valleys and Deserts — Cities — 
The Past and Present of Palestine..... Pages 112-120. 

Chap. VIII. — Bible Manners and Customs. 

Oriental Life— Classes of Inhabitants— The Tent and the House — Bels and 
Lights— Sepulchers— Food and Clothing — Scripture Ref. Pages 120-130. 

PART II. 

The Sunday School. 

Its Place and Purpose.— The Importance of the Sunday School— Defini- 
tion Pages 131-133. 

Organization and Management.— Necessity of O'ganization— Essential 
Things in Every Organization — Officers of a Sunday School — Qualificitions 
of a Superintendent— The Sunday School Teacher Pages 133-140. 

How to Study the Lesson —The Threefold Purpose of Teaching- 
Preparation— Methods of Study— Plan of Teaching Pages 141-144. 

How to Teach the Lesson. — Foundation— Principles aod Methods — 
Mistakes Pages 114-149. 

How to Win and Hold Attention.— Methods Pages 149-153 

Illustration and Questioning. — Decorative— Illuminating— Perma- 
nency— Questioning— The Blackboard— The Library Pages 153-159. 

Ke views— Sunday School Programmes— Miscellaneous— Texts for Teachers 
—The Religious Nature of a Child .....Pages 161-170. 

The Religious Education of Children.— The Parental or Family— The 
Church School— The Divine Method Pages 175-191. 



THE STANDARD MANUAL. 



PAieT i 



CHAPTER L— CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES. 

I. Introduction. — The Christian Religion is the re- 
ligion of the New Testament. Hence, an examination 
of its foundations is an inquiry into the claims and 
authority of that book. Such an inquiry I am about to 
make. The space at my disposal restricts me to an out- 
line, but I shall try to make it an outline in which some 
main lines of proof will be not only clearly but boldly 
drawn. 

The New Testament contains a variety of elements, 
that may be thus classified : 

1. The strictly ethical or moral teachings, as the pro- 
hibition of licentiousness and the command to honesty. 
These teachings carry with them their own proof and 
sanction. 

2. The dogmatic teachings, as Christ's divinity and 
atonement. These teachings do not, like the others, 
carry their own proof and sanction, but rest on the char- 
acter and authority of their authors. 

(7) 



8 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

3. The positive or ceremonial commands, as baptism 
and other similar ordinances. These, like the last, rest 
on a basis of authority. 

4. The facts : as the miracles, the death and resurrec- 
tion of Christ. These facts, of course, rest on historical 
evidence. 

It is from the facts pertaining to the Author and first 
preachers of Christianity that we learn their character 
and authority. The great supernatural facts in the his- 
tory of Christ, for example, are his credentials. " Believe 
me for the very works' sake,"* he said on more than one 
occasion. The dogmatic and positive elements in the 
New Testament rest on the historical elements. Hence 
the importance of an inquiry into the evidence on which 
those facts rest. It is not too much to say, an examina- 
tion of Christianity is, first of all, an inquiry into the 
claims of that book to historical authenticity. 

II. Historical Authenticity.— The New Testa- 
ment consists of twenty seven separate writings. These 
writings are commonly ascribed to eight writers : one to 
Matthew, one to Mark, two to Luke, five to John, four- 
teen to Paul, two to Peter, one to James, and one to 
Jude. Christians hold (1) that there were such persons 
as these ; (2) that they lived in the times when the things 
recorded in the writings took place; (3) that they had, 
generally, a first-hand knowledge of these facts, and 
wrote them down in the book ascribed to them and called 
by their names; (4) that they told the truth when they 
wrote them. On what grounds do Christians hold these 
propositions? 

* John xiv. 11. 



CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES, g 

To-day these twenty-seven writings are in men's hands. 
Christians esteem them the sacred books of their religion. 
They are more read, studied and discussed than any other 
writings in the world ; and, directly or indirectly, create 
much of the mental activity about us. Where did Chris- 
tians and others now living— that is, the present genera- 
tion—get them? All answer, " From the last generation." 
Sometimes it is said these writings are forgeries, but no 
one places the forgery in this age. Sometimes, that they 
are so corrupted as to have lost their identity, but no one 
lays the charge at the door of men now living. They 
were in the world thirty or fifty years ago, and were held 
in their present estimation. Old men now living say 
they were. Particular copies now existing were existing 
then. The literature of that age attests the same fact. 
Nor did that generation forge or corrupt these writings. 
It received them from the one just before. So they were 
in existence sixty or one hundred years ago, and were 
held in the same estimation that they are now. And so 
we can go back, generation by generation, for fifteen hun- 
dred years; for all that time there is not a generation of 
men that did not have them, and that did not account for 
their having them as we account for our having them to- 
day. Each age hands them on to the next with the cer- 
tificate, "We received these books from our fathers." The 
older members of the community always deliver an oral 
testimony ; this testimony is confirmed by the old books 
in public or private hands; and this, again, by the evi- 
dence of literature. 

III. Literary Evidence. — Literary evidence to the 
existence of literary documents in former times is of 



io THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

several kinds and is thus classified by Isaac Taylor: 

1. 'Literal quotations, whether the author cited is 
named or not. Such quotations * * prove the ex- 
istence of the work quoted in the time of the writer who 
makes the reference." 

2. " Incidental allusions are often met with, either to 
the words or to the sense of an author, sufficiently obvious 
to prove that the one writer was known to the other." 

3. " Nearly every one of the principal authors of an- 
tiquity has been explicitly mentioned, or criticised, or 
described, by later writers. Lists of their works have 
been given with summaries of their contents ; or they 
have been made the subject of connected commentaries." 

4. "A copious fund of quotations is contained in some 
ancient treatises on particular subjects, in which all the 
authors who have handled the same topic are mentioned 
in the order of time." 

5. " Controversies, whether literary, political or relig- 
ious, have usually occasioned extensive quotations to be 
made from works of all classes, and * * * many 
obscure facts have been adduced, which * * * have 
served to determine questions of literary history." 

6. "Among all the means for ascertaining the antiquity 
and genuineness of ancient books, none are more satis- 
factory or more complete than those afforded by the ex- 
istence of early translations."* 

Isaac Taylor further says, very justly: "The validity 
of this kind of proof rises from its amount, from its 
multifariousness, and from its incidental character. ' ' Proofs 
of all these kinds, great in amount, and multiform and 

* Pages 31-4. 



CHRISTIAN E VIDENCES. 1 1 



a 



incidental in character, are in our possession, showin 
that the Christian Scriptures have been in existence, and 
have been regarded as the originals of Christianity, for 
fifteen hundred years. 

By inserting the limitation, "fifteen hundred years," in 
this section and the last, I must not be understood as im- 
plying that these writings were not in existence before 
that time. No one denies my proposition within these 
limits. But as fifteen hundred years take us back to the 
border, or near the border, of disputed ground, we must 
no longer pass over centuries by a leap, but go on more 
slowly. I proceed now to show that these writings were 
in existence, and were esteemed by Christians as they 
still are, back to the very century in which Christ lived. 

IV. Testimony of Eusebius. — Eusebius, the Father 
of Church History, was born about the year 260. His 
home was Palestine, and from 312, to his death in 340, he 
was Bishop of Caesarea. He was a gifted and learned 
man. He witnessed the last great persecution of the 
Christians, seeing, he says, "the Sacred Scriptures of In- 
spiration committed to the flames in the midst of the 
markets." He was a voluminous writer, but I need men- 
tion here only his "Ecclesiastical History" — the first at- 
tempt to compose a general history of the Church. His 
abilities and learning, his great position and long life, 
gave him the best of opportunities to find out what books 
his fellow-Christians regarded as the sacred books of 
inspiration of the New Testament. The following ac- 
count is gathered from the " History." 

Book III. chapter 25, Eusebius divides the books that 
laid claim to Apostolical authority into three classes — 



12 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

the 'Acknowledged," the "Disputed," and the "Heretical." 
Under the first head, he mentions " the holy quaternion of 
the Gospels," the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of 
Paul, " the first Epistle of John as also the first of Peter ;"■ 
1 and after these, if proper, the Revelation of John." 
"These, then," he says, "are acknowledged as genuine." 
"Among the 'disputed' books, although," he says, "they 
are well known and approved by many" he names James, 
Jude, II. Peter, II. and III. John, "whether they [the 
Johns] are of the evangelist or of some other of the 
same name " The foregoing are the books enumerated 
as "disputed" that are also said to be "well-known and 
approved by many." [Westcott translates, "well-known 
and recognized by most."] A second division of "dis- 
puted" books Eusebius marks as "spurious," and under 
this sub-head mentions several writings that are not now 
known, save to the learned. Here again he mentions the 
Revelation of John, "which some, as before said, reject, 
but others rank among the genuine." Under the third 
head he mentions several books circulated by the heretics 
under the names of the Apostles. 

Earlier in his great work, Eusebius says the Gospels 
are called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.* He also 
says, "the Epistles of Paul are fourteen." They are 
"well-known and beyond doubt," except the Epistle to 
the Hebrews, which "some set aside," as "not being one 
of Paul's Epistles. "f He nowhere gives a list of Paul's 
Epistles ; but that they are the fourteen in our possession 
can not be doubted, since his writings contain quotations 
from them, and other writers, both immediately before 



: Book II. 15 ; III. 24. t Book III. 3. 



CHRISTIAN E VIDENCES. 1 3 

and after, do give their names. Thus far he expresses 
the views current in the Church. There are (1) "the 
true, genuine, well-authenticated writings;" (2) "those 
others, which are not only not embodied in the canon, 
but are likewise disputed, notwithstanding that they are 
recognized by most ecclesiastical writers;" and (3) the 
heretical books, "of which no one of those writers in the 
ecclesiastical succession has condescended to make any 
mention in his works." It is clear, therefore, that the 
Father of Church History received, along with all his 
brethren, the four Gospels, the Acts, thirteen Pauline 
Epistles, and one Epistle each of both Peter and John. 
Were this all, he would be leaving in doubt James, Jude, 
II. Peter, II. and III. John, and Revelation. Still, his 
testimony is conclusive that all of these but the last were 
generally received — "they are recognized by most eccle- 
siastical writers." What is more, there can be little 
doubt, if any, that when he designated certain of the 
"disputed" books as "spurious" he intended to give the 
others the sanction of his own judgment. It is also clear 
that he acknowledged the apostolicity of the Hebrews, 
for he both mentions it without objection in his summary, 
and quotes from it freely in his writings. He speaks of 
James and Jude as belonging to "the seven Epistles 
called Catholic," and adds: "We know that these [the 
two] have been publicly used with the rest [of the seven] 
in most churches." He was in doubt whether Revelation 
was the work of John the Apostle, and therefore hesi- 
tated whether to put it among the "acknowledged" 
books or the "spurious." It will be seen that in the time 
of Eusebius the New Testament writings were grouped 



H THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

as they are now — " four Gospels," " fourteen Epistles of 
Paul," and "seven Catholic Epistles/' besides the Acts, 
and the Revelation, each a book of its own kind, and 
therefore incapable of classification. 

Such is the testimony of Eusebius — certainly the most 
competent man of the time to express the voice of the 
universal Church. He spoke both as a historian and 
a critic. His " History" ends with 324, but his active 
Church-life covers the half-century from 340 to 290. 
His testimony belongs as much to his earlier as to his 
later years. He spoke for the past as well as the present ; 
spoke not only what he had seen in the Church in his 
own day, but also what he had learned in youth from the 
old men of the Church and from his life-long study of 
Christian antiquity. Eusebius and his contemporaries 
had a complete New Testament. "That it rested on 
no authoritative decision," says Westcott, "is simply a 
proof that none was needed "* 

V. Testimony of Origen. — Origen was born at Alex- 
andria in 185, and died at Tyre in 253. His checkered 
life was spent in several countries, but his great name is 
principally associated with the city of his birth. No 
Christian teacher of his time, or indeed before the Coun- 
cil of Nice in 325, equaled him in talents, in genius, or 
in learning. No other had so extensive or so profound a 
knowledge of the Scriptures. His mind was unstable, 
and his views of Scripture sometimes visionary; but no 
one questions the integrity of his character or the purity 
of his life. He was one of the most voluminous of 
writers. Jerome said he wrote more than other men 



• Page 393. 



CHRISTIAN E VIDENCES. 1 5 

read, and Epiphanius that lie was the author of six thou- 
sand writings. His ability and learning, the number of 
his works, as well as his position in the great Greek cap- 
ital, make him the best witness to the Scriptures found 
in that age. Time has dealt hardly with his works, and 
we must accept much of his testimony at second-hand. 
He, like Eusebius, professed to repeat only what he had 
received from his Christian predecessors — "preserving 
the rule of the Church." 

" In the first book of his Commentaries on the Gospel 
of Matthew," says Eusebius, "following the Ecclesias- 
tical Canon, he attests that he knows only of four Gos- 
pels, as follows: 'As I have understood from tradition, 
respecting the four Gospels , which are the only undis- 
puted ones in the whole Church of God throughout the 
world. The first is written according to Matthew * * 
once a publican, afterward an Apostle; * * the second 
is according to Mark ; * * the third according to 
Luke; * * and, last of all, the Gospel according to 
John.' ' In the fifth book of his Commentaries on John, 
according to Eusebius, Origen says : " Paul did not even 
write to all the churches to which he preached." Also, 
Peter " has left one Epistle undisputed. There may be 
also a second, but on this there is some doubt." In the 
same passage quoted by Eusebius, Origen says: "John 
wrote the Apocalypse. * * He has also left an Epis- 
tle consisting of very few lines. It may be, also, a second 
is from him, but not all agree that they are genuine ; but 
both together do not contain a hundred lines." In the 
same extract he discusses the authority of the Epistle to 
the Hebrews, and concludes "that, the thoughts are the 



1 6 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Apostle's [Paul's], but the diction and phraseology belong 
to some one who has recorded what the Apostle said, and 
as one who noted down at his leisure what his master 
dictated. If, then, any Church considers this Epistle as 
coming from Paul, let it be commended for this, for 
neither did those ancient men deliver it without cause "* 

In a version of Origen's Homilies, or popular preach- 
ings, on Genesis and Joshua, preserved by Paifinus — a 
version not of the highest authority, but that, so far as 
it bears on this question, is only an amplification of the 
evidence already introduced— Origen spiritualizes the 
narrative of the wells, given in Genesis xxvi. 18, et seq. 
He says the antitype of Isaac sought to lay open those 
wells, the Scriptures of the Old Testament, closed up by 
the Jews. When the Philistines strove with him, "He 
dug new wells, and so did his servants. Isaac's servants 
were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; his servants are 
Peter, James, and Jude; his servant also is the Apostle 
Paul; who all dug wells of the New Testament. " He 
also spiritualizes the narrative of the fall of Jericho 
given in Joshua, thus: 

"So, too, our Lord, whose advent was typified by the 
son of Nun, when he came sent his Apostles as priests 
bearing well-wrought trumpets. Matthew first sounded 
the priestly trumpet in his Gospel. Mark also; Luke and 
John each gave forth a strain on their priestly trumpets. 
Peter, moreover, sounds loudly on the twofold trumpet 
of his Epistles ; and so also James and Jude. Still the 
number is incomplete, and John gives forth the trumpet- 
sound in his Epistles and Apocalypse; and Luke, while 

* See Eusebius, Book VI. chap. 25. 



CHRISTIAN E VIDENCES. 1 7 

describing the Acts of the Apostles. Lastly, however, 
came he who said: '/ think that God hath set forth us 
Apostles last of all; 1 and thundering on the fourteen 
trumpets of his Epistles threw down even to the ground 
the walls of Jericho; that is to say, all the instruments 
of idolatry and the doctrines of philosophers."* 

Origen's fanciful views of Scripture do not in the least 
subtract from the value of his testimony as to ichat is 
Scripture, His writings are colored through and through 
with both the spirit and the language of the New Testa- 
ment. His lists of books and of writers are constantly 
supported by quotations made from nearly all the books 
in our Xew Testament. With the exception of trans- 
lations, Eusebius and Origen each furnishes abundant ex- 
amples of all the kinds of evidence enumerated by Isaac 
Taylor. 

VI. Testimony of Three Earlier Ecclesiastical 
Writers. — Going back one generation farther, we meet 
three great ecclesiastical writers — Clement of Alexandria, 
Tertullian of Carthage, and Irenseus of Lyons. These 
all flourished between the year 160 and the year 220 or 
240 (the date of Tertullian's death being in dispute;. 
They were the foremost men in the Church in their re- 
spective countries, Egypt, the Province of Africa, and 
Gaul. Not only so, in point of ability and learning they 
ranked with the first men of their time. They are unex- 
ceptional witnesses in every respect. 

Clement speaks of the -'four Gospels which have been 
handed down to us."f Eusebius has preserved a frag- 

* These passages are quoted from Westcott, Pages 329, 30. 
f Miscellanies, Book III. chap. 13. 
2 



1 8 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

ment of a lost work of Clement's, in which that father 
u gives the traditions respecting the order of the Gospels, 
as derived from the oldest presbyters/' saying, "those 
which contain the genealogies [Matthew and Luke] were 
written first." He then mentions Mark and John by 
name. Eusebius further says Clement, in the same work, 
c has given us abridged accounts of all the canonical 
[acknowledged] Scriptures, not even omitting those that 
are disputed. I mean the book of Jude and the other 
general [or Catholic] Epistles. * * * The Epistle 
to the Hebrews he asserts was written by Paul 7? * 

In a number of places Tertullian speaks of the Gos- 
pels by name, and vindicates their authority. He says 
they have Apostles and Apostolic men for their authors. 
" Of the Apostles, therefore, John and Matthew first in- 
still faith into us, whilst of Apostolic men Luke and 
Mark renew it afterward. "f The following passage 
shows how he grounded the sacred books on the authority 
of antiquity : 

"On the whole, then, if that is evidently more true 
which is earlier, if that is earlier which is from the very be- 
ginning, if that is from the beginning which has the Apos- 
tles for its authors, then it will certainly be quite as evident 
that that comes down from the Apostles which has been 
kept as a sacred deposit in the churches of the Apostles. 
Let us see what milk the Corinthians drank from Paul ; 
to what rule [of faith] the Galatians were brought for 
correction ; what the Philippians, the Thessalonians, the 



* The fragment is found in "The Ecclesiastical History," 
Book VI. chap. 13. 
t Against Marcion, Book IV. chap. 2. 



'HR 1ST I AN E VIDEXCES. 1 9 

Eplicsians read [out of it] ; what utterance ' also the 
Romans give, so very near [to the Apostles] to whom 
Peter and Paul conjointly bequeathed the Gospel, even 
sealed with their own blood.'** 

He names other books, and quotes from them, as we 
shall soon see. Tertullian was the first to call the Chris- 
tian Scriptures the "New Testament" — a name which 
shows that a canon was already formed and generally ac- 
cepted. 

Irenaeus, also, mentions the Gospels by name, says 
they are four in number, and constructs a curious argu- 
ment to show there can be but four. He also names 
other books, and quotes from them, as well as from some 
he does not name. His testimony is all the more valuable 
from the fact that in youth he had been a pupil of Poly- 
carp of Smyrna, who had been taught by the Apostle 
John. 

I am not aware that any one of these three writers at- 
tempts to give a full list of the New Testament writings. 
Still, they recognize nearly every book found in our list, 
either by expressly mentioning it, or by unequivocal quo- 
tation. No one, in fact, can fully appreciate the force of 
their testimony, who has not read some part of their writ- 
ings. Even if they never named a book, their writings 
would be impressive witnesses both to Christianity and to 
the New Testament. Their great themes are New Test- 
ament themes; their spirit is distinctly Christian; and 
their writings, like those of Origen, are colored through 
and through with New Testament language. No man 
who reads Clement, Tertullian, and Irenseus can more 



Against Marcion, Book IV. chap. 5. 



20 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

doubt that they were acquainted with the New Testament 
than a man who reads the speeches of Daniel Webster 
can doubt that he was familiar with such documents as 
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of 
the United States. 

Some statistics will make the argument from quotations 
still more forcible. They will be gathered from the 
" Indexes of Scripture/' appended to the a Ante-Nicene 
Christian Library" translations of the Fathers. 

Clement makes quotations or allusions to the Gospels, 
Acts, Romans, I. and II. Corinthians, Galatians, Ephe- 
sians, Philippians, Colossians, I. and II. Thessalonians, ' 
I. and II. Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, I. Peter, I. John, 
Jude, Revelation. His quotations and allusions are nearly 
one thousand in number. So accurate is Clement that his 
quotations are of great value for the closest critical pur- 
poses. In his u Against Marcion," Tertullian quotes from 
nineteen of the books of our New Testament, sometimes 
naming them. They are the four Gospels, Acts, Romans, 
I. and II. Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 
Colossians, I. and II. Thessalonians, I. Timothy, I. Peter, 

I. John, and Revelation. In this single work his quota- 
tions and allusions are more than seven hundred in num- 
ber — some of them slight, others including several verses. 
He makes two hundred and seventy-five from John's 
Gospel alone. In " Against Heresies" and in the frag- 
ments of his lost writings, lrenseus recognizes in the 
same way twenty-five books, viz: the four Gospels, Acts, 
Romans, I. and II. Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 
Colossians, Philippians, I. and II. Thessalonians, I. and 

II. Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, I. and II. Peter, 



CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES. 21 

I. and II. John, and Jude. His quotations and allusions 
are even more numerous than Tertullian's. 

We have now made out a chain of unimpeachable tes- 
timony one and a half centuries in length. Many other 
witnesses belonging to the same period could be called. 
Nor has the testimony given by those summoned been 
exhausted;- but that adduced is more than enough to 
show that the New Testament was in existence from 
325 back to 175, and also -to show the estimation in which 
it was held. What is more, if every word of proof now 
brought forward were blotted out, enough would still 
remain to carry conviction on these points to every candid 
mind. 

VII. Ancient Canons and Versions. — The Muratori 
Canon is an ancient manuscript, composed in or near 
Rome about the year 1G0. It speaks the voice of the 
Western Church. Unfortunately, the first page or pages 
have been lost. It calls Luke and John the third and 
fourth Gospels ; and there can be no reasonable doubt 
that the lost portion called Matthew and Mark the first 
and second. Following the Gospels in the present order 
are the Acts, all of the Pauline Epistles but Hebrews, 

II. and III. John, Jude, and Revelation. 

The old Syrian translation, called The Pcshiio, was 
made, according to some authorities in the second half of 
the second century; according to others, in its first half. 
This venerable version, which Tischendorf says "takes 
us to the neighborhood of the Euphrates," is still extant. 
It speaks the voice of the Oriental Church. It contains 
the four Gospels, the Acts, all of the Pauline Epistles, 
James, I. Peter, and I. John. 



22 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

The Old Latin version, made in North Africa in the 
middle of the same century, no longer exists in its orig- 
inal form; but it is the basis of the Vulgate, and abund- 
ant fragments of it are scattered throughout ancient Latin 
ecclesiastical literature Canon Westcott has thoroughly 
studied "the Canon of the old Latin version," and reached 
the conclusion that it exactly coincided with the Muratorl 
list 

The same writer thus sums up the testimony of these 
ancient versions: ''Their voice is one to which we can 
not refuse to listen. They give the testimony of Churches, 
and not of individuals They are sanctioned by public 
use, and not only supported by private criticisms. Com- 
bined with the original Greek, they represent the New 
Testament Scriptures as they were read throughout the 
whole of Christendom toward the close of the second 
century. Even to the present day they have maintained 
their place in the services of a vast majority of Christians; 
though the languages in which they were written only 
live now so far as they have supplied the materials for 
the construction of later dialects. They furnish a proof 
of the authority of the books which they contain, wide- 
spread, continuous, reaching to the utmost verge of our 
historic records. Their real weight is even greater than 
this; for when history first speaks of them it speaks as of 
that which was recognized as an heritage from an earlier 
period, which can not have been long after the days of 
the Apostles."* 

VIII. Justin Martyr's Testimony. — Justin, both 
philosopher and martyr, was born in Palestine near 

* Page 243. 



CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES. 23 

the close of the first century. He suffered martyrdom 
at Rome in 167. He was a man of ability, learning, 
and character — the foremost of the writers called 
Apologists — and his testimony to the currency in his 
time of the great New Testament facts and doctrines 
is abundant and unmistakable. His testimony to the 
New Testament writings is not so clear and strong, but 
for an obvious reason. He was separated only by a sin- 
gle generation from the Apostles, and the stream of oral 
teaching was still full and strong, while books had not 
assumed the importance that they were soon to attain. 
Still Justin is not silent in regard to books. He speaks 
repeatedly of the " Memoirs of the Apostles." " For the 
Apostles, in the Memoirs composed by them, which are 
called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was en- 
joined upon them," etc. "And on the day called Sunday 
all [Christians] who live in cities or in the country gather 
together to one place, and the Memoirs of the Apostles 
or the writings of the Prophets are read as long as time 
permits "* These were the Gospels of Justin and his 
fellow-Christians. Their names he nowhere gives, but 
his frequent quotations show that they were our well- 
known Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Besides the 
Memoirs, he names only Revelation. Canon Westcott 
points out Justin's quotations from other books, or allu- 
sions to them, and concludes thus : "It will be found that 
the Catholic Epistles and the Epistles to Titus and Phil- 
emon alone of the writings of the New Testament have 
left no impression on the genuine or doubtful works of 
Justin Martyr."f 

* First Apology of Justin, chaps. 66, 7. t Page 153- 



24 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

IX. Testimony of the Apostolic Fathers. — We 
reach, finally, the group of writers coming immediately 
after the Apostles, called the Apostolic Fathers. They 
are Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Poly carp, 
Hermas, and, in a broad sense, Papias, and the unknown 
writer of the ".Epistle to Diognetus." They cover the 
period from the year 70 to 120. The chain of evidence 
passes from the Apologists (from 170 to 120), and nota- 
bly from Justin, to them; and, if we can follow it through 
their writings, we shall have bound ourselves fast to the 
Apostles and to Christ. 

First, it should be remarked that books are even less 
prominent now than they were in the time of Justin. 
The nearer we come to the living Apostle or Christ, the 
more we depend on the spoken and the less on the written 
word. Hence, these Fathers do not testify so much to 
books as to facts and doctrines. Canon Westcott truly 
says: "They witness that the great outlines of the life 
and teaching of our Lord were familiarly known to all 
from the first ; they prove that Christianity rests truly 
on an historic basis. "* Accordingly, if we could not find 
trace of a single book in this period, Christianity would 
not be invalidated; for Christ's religion was first preached, 
afterward written. But we do find plain trace of books. 
Polycarp quotes from Matthew, and alludes to I. John. 
Ignatius quotes from the first Gospel, and alludes to the 
fourth. The writing called " Barnabas" quotes from Mat- 
thew, and shows an acquaintance with John. Whoever 
wrote "Diognetus" was also acquainted with the fourth 

* Page 49. 



CHRISTIAN EVIDENECS. 25 

Gospel. Papias mentions both Matthew and Mark * 
Clement appeals to I. Corinthians by name, as Ignatius 
does to the Ephesians, and Polycarp to the Philippians. 
"With the exception of the Epistles of Jude, II. Peter, 
II and III. John, with which no coincidences occur, and I. 
and II. Thcssalonians, Colossians, Titus, and Philemon, 
with which the coincidences are very questionable, all 
the other Epistles were clearly known and widely used. "f 

X. Method of Investigation. — I have sought to 
trace all the books, or so many of them as possible, 
through each period. The reader can now readily do 
what want of space prevents the writer's doing, take up 
each book separately and follow it through the whole 
time covered by the argument, bringing into one line all 
the writers named that bear testimony to it in any way, 
by naming it, by quotation, or allusion, thus : 

Matthew — Eusebius, Origen, Clement, Tertullian, and 
Irenaeus; the Syriac and Old Latin Versions; Justin Mar- 
tyr; and the Apostolic Fathers (either collectively or 
individually). 

It will be worth while here to group tne witnesses to 
those books that Eusebius does not rank among the 
"acknowledged;" though saying of them "they are well- 
known and approved by most." 

Hebrews. — (some of the writers do not attempt to de- 
termine the authorship, though admitting the book as 
Scripture) Eusebius, Origen, Clement, Tertullian, Ire- 
nseus, Pesliito Version, and Clement of Alexandria. 



* Eusebius, "Ecclesiastical History," Book III. 39. 
t Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, Article on "Canon." 
3 



26 THE STANDARD MANUAL 

James. — Eusebius, Origen, Irenasus, Pcshito Version, 
Clement of Rome. 

II Peter. — Eusebius, Origen, and Clement of Alexan- 
dria No other New Testament book rests on such slender 
evidence. Yet it is said -'passages from Clement of Home, 
Hermas, Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, and 
Irenaeus, suggest an acquaintance with this Epistle. To 
these may be added a probable reference in the Martyr- 
dom of Ignatius and another in the Apology of Milito."* 

II. and III. John — Eusebius, Origen, the Muratori 
Canon, Clement, and Irenseus. 

Jude. — Eusebius, Origen, Clement, Tertullian, Mura- 
tori Canon. 

Revelation. — Origen, Clement, Tertullian, Muratori 
Canon, and Justin Martyr. 

In this statement I have mentioned no writer (save in 
the case of II. Peter) not previously introduced. The 
argument could be much strengthened in some cases, if 
that were necessary, by the introduction of witnesses that 
the plan of this chapter compels me to exclude. But the 
reader who may be left in doubt, in any case, is referred 
to treatises on the Canon, to Dictionary and Cyclopaedia 
Articles, and to Dissertations in "Introductions" and 
Commentaries. 

It may be taid, if the twenty-seven books were all re- 
ceived by the Church from the beginning, there would 
be unmistakable traces of each at any and all times from 
the close of the Apostolic age onward. This is palpably 
absurd. In the first place, the earlier Christian literature 
is very small in quantity. It was not, in the Church, a 

* Smith's Dictionary, Art. *'1I. Paer." 



CHRISTIAN E VIDENCES. 2 7 

literary period ; nor has time dealt kindly with such as 
was produced. In the second place, the earliest writings 
— the Epistles of the Apostolic Fathers — were not con- 
troversial or apologetical ; but they were written for 
counsel, warning, and encouragement. It does not come 
in their way to give lists of books, nor freely to quote 
texts. For the latter, as we have seen, they were too 
near the oral Gospel. But when we reach the Age of the 
Apologists, or defenders of the faith against external as- 
saults, still more of the controversialists, when the Church 
was racked by dissension, the books of the New Testa- 
ment stand out in unmistakable prominence And it may 
not be amiss to remark, while a writer's mention of a 
book or his quotation from it proves its existence in his 
time, his failure to name it or quote it does not prove its 
non-existence. 

XI. The Canon Settled. — The Canon was substan- 
tially settled before the close of the second century. 
Origen, therefore, speaks of the ''Canonical Books'' early 
in the third. Some may think it strange that the Canon 
was not settled earlier than it was, but no one is likely to 
hold that opinion who is familiar with all the facts bear- 
ing on the case. The more important of them are these : 
The New Testament is made up of twenty-seven sepa- 
rate writings; these were scattered by their authors over 
a considerable share of the Roman Empire; in no case 
were more than two or three sent to the same place; 
some were sent to Churches, some to particular districts, 
some to especial classes, some to single individuals; the 
collecting, comparing, and verifying of all these books in 
that time of slow communication and of tardy multipli- 



28 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

cation of books, when the relations of distant communi- 
ties of Christians were broken up or never formed, owing 
to persecution, was necessarily a work of time. It is 
noteworthy, too. though perfectly natural, that, as a rule, 
those books were latest in receiving the approval of the 
whole Church, that were shortest, or were sent originally 
to the obscurest persons or places. On the completion 
of the Canon, Tertullian gave the collection its name 
Novum Testamentum, The New Testament. 

It is constantly asserted, and very commonly believed, 
that the early Councils played a very important part in 
settling the Canon. The work was substantially done be- 
fore the first Council sat, by the concurrent voice of the 
Church. It is sometimes said that there was no Xew Test- 
ament before the fourth century; that it was made at 
the Council of Nice in 325. How ignorant or dishonest 
those are who make these charges, the facts presented in 
this chapter show. At Nice the Scriptures were appeale:! 
to in controversy; but the question, What is Scripture? 
— the question of the Canon — was not before the Council 
in any form. It is sometimes said, too, that very little 
attention was paid to the claims of the books ; that they 
were voted up or down in a most arbitrary manner, small 
majorities often deciding what was and what was not 
Scripture; and that the books admitted into the Canon 
had no better claims than many that were rejected. 
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Passing by the 
Council of Laodicea, the genuineness of whose repute 1 
work on this subject is greatly disputed, the third of Car- 
thage, A. D. 397, was the first that considered the Canon. 
As there were still some lingering doubts touching one or 



CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES. 29 

two books, this Council very properly gave its opinion. 
This opinion is entitled to such consideration as properly 
belongs to the mature judgment of a body of men who 
had a full knowledge of the subject they were dealing 
with, and who were intent on maintaining the sacredness 
of the Scriptures. Later Councils reaffirmed the Canon, 
not so much for controversial as for declaratory purposes, 
just as at a still later day the Catalogue of Sacred Books 
was put in the Creeds. Nor is there in early literature 
any traces of violent and heated controversies touching 
this question. Heretics disputed certain books, and the 
Catholic Christians maintained them; some sections of 
the Christian world temporarily held to certain books that 
other sections repudiated; but, on the whole, the Canon 
was settled with singular unanimity. This settlement was 
progressive, but it was made under circumstances that 
entitle it to be received as a part of the evidence. 

It has been remarked that from 325 to 175 only a sin- 
gle line of evidence has been followed. In the age of Eu- 
sebius, we are not dependent upon Eusebius ; nor in the 
age of Origen, upon Origen. Valuable as is the testimony 
of both these writers, we could get along without it. 
Nor are we shut up to the three great writers who lived in 
the second half of the second century. What is more, 
a number of witnesses living before the middle of the 
second century have not been called. But, of course, the 
lines bounding the field of information converge as we 
recede in the distance. The history of Christianity is 
focalized, at last, in the person of Christ. 

It is but the simple truth to say the historical authen- 
tication of the New Testament, compared with other 



30 THE STANDARD MANUAL: 

writings, is unusually complete. No other group of an- 
cient writings, twenty-seven in number, that rest oa more 
convincing, if so convincing, evidence, can be named. 
Some modern writings are even more in dispute. While 
the ratification of our National Constitution was pending 
in 1788, three of our great statesmen, Jay, Madison, and 
Hamilton wrote those admirable political essays known as 
the " Federalist;" and it is no exaggeration to say that 
there is more room for controversy concerning the author- 
ship of some of these pieces than there is concerning any 
of the strictly historical books of the New Testament. 

XII. Conclusion. — It is now necessary to make some 
remarks on one feature of the testimony adduced. It 
has been seen that the ancient witnesses point backward 
to an earlier antiquity. From the beginning, currency 
in the Church is the proof of Apostolicity. Tertullian, 
for example, says of a Grospel used by one of the heretics : 
"Marcion's Gospel is not known to most people, and to 
none whatever is it known without being at the same 
time condemned." To him, as to all the ancients, the 
seal of the inspired books is their having had "free course 
in the Church-from the beginning." The Apostles them- 
selves set the example. Luke deems it proper for him 
to write to Theophilus, because he had a perfect under- 
standing of all things from the very first.* John writes: 
'• That which was from the very beginning, * * that 
which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you."f 
The " traditions " — or things delivered — whether by word 
or epistle, are to be " held fast." Perhaps it is not super- 

* Luke i. 1-4. t 1 John i. 1-3. 



CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES, [31 

fiuous to say, 0:1 a community trained in such a jealous 
care, taught from the beginning to reject everything that 
did not bear the seal of antiquity, it would be peculiarly 
difficult to impose spurious, and especially newly invented 
books. 

Some parts of the historical evidence of the New 
Testament books have now been presented. The reader 
must feel himself bound to the Apostolic Age, and to 
the Apostles themselves, by a strong bond. This evi- 
dence establishes the genuineness of the New Testament 
history. What is more, that history is the personal testi- 
mony of the men who wrote it. Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
John, Paul, Peter, James, and Jude are not simply names 
written on some old manuscripts ; but men of flesh and 
blood, who once walked the earth, companied with Jesus, 
preached the Gospel, and wrote down the story and the 
religion of their Master. Their writings are a personal 
testimony that at once take Jesus out of the land of 
myth, legend, or fable, and place him on the solid rock 
of historical reality. He is a real person, teaching the 
people, healing their diseases and sicknesses, seeking and 
saving the lost. A treatise on Christian evidences would 
require that I go on to examine and apply the testimony 
of these original witnesses. But here that is not called 
for. This is the introductory chapter to a Sunday 
School Manual. That testimony is the very material, 
in great part,_on which both the Sunday-school teacher 
and pupil will work together. The former, if wise, will 
not only explain the precepts and enforce the commands ' 
of the New Testament; but he will point out that it 



32 



THE STANDARD MANUAL. 



His standpoint will 



is a personal testimony to Christ. 

be that of the Apostle John: 

" Many other sign3 truly did Jesus in the presence of hi* dis- 
ciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, 
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; 
and that believing ye might have life through his name.'* 

The teacher is to teach what is in the books, but my 
work is done now that I have shown the historical foun- 
dations on which the books rest. 

* John xx. 30, 1. 

The Superintendent can make the argument of the foregoing chapter 
much more effective, and, at the same time, teach the facts more quickly 
and. thoroughly, by placing on the blackboard the following table. He can 
also readily construct one, on the same plan, for all the New Testament 
Books, breaking the line when no trace of a book is found : 

Early Witnesses to the Gospel, Arranged in the Order of Timet 







Matthew. 


Mark. 


Luke. 


John. 






120-70 

Apostolic 

Fathers, 

" Barnabas" 

Clement. 

Ignatius, 

JPolycarp. 

Papias. 

"Diogne- 

tus.'* 














172-100 

Muratori 

Canon. 

Peshito 

and 
Old Latin 
Versions. 
Justin 
Martyr. 














220-160 

Clement. 

Tertullian. 

Irenaeus. 














250-185 

Origen. 


i 












324-260 

Eusebius. 













INTERPRETATION. 33 



CHAPTER II.— INTERPRETATION. 

Interpretation is an act. It is the act of teaching 
what is the meaning of another's language ; or that skill 
which enables us to attach to another's lamma^e the 
same meaning that the author himself attached to it. 
Any other meaning than this can never be called, with 
propriety, the meaning of the author. The interpreta- 
tion of the books of the Bible is a high and difficult task. 

It has been truly said, "That all solid knowledge and 
judicious defense of divine truth must originate from a 
right understanding and accurate interpretation of the 
Scriptures. The purity of the Christian religion has 
shone brighter or been obscured in proportion as the 
study of sacred interpretation has flourished or decayed." 

Christian doctrine is preserved only in written records ; 
hence the interpretation of these records is absolutely 
essential to a knowledge of it. 

There are many difficulties in the way of successful 
interpretation. It requires learning, judgment, and dili- 
gence, and, frequently, more than a usual degree of un- 
derstanding is requisite to manage an exegetical inquiry 
with success. 

The Bible presents more than usual difficulties to the 
interpreter; such as the antiquity of its books — the pe- 
culiar dialect, the manners, customs, education and style, 
modes of thinking and expression, situation, government, 



34 THE STANDARD MANUAL, 

climate, of the authors, which in so many respects are 
dissimilar to ours. Interpretation may be called gram- 
matical, when the meaning of words, phrases, and sen- 
tences is made out by usage and the context. It is called 
historical, when the meaning is illustrated and confirmed 
by historical arguments which serve to show in a clear 
manner that no other sense can be put upon the passage, 
whether the nature of the subject is regarded, or the 
genius, manner and circumstances of the writer. 

There are two requisites of a good interpreter : 

First, he must have a right perception of the meaning 
of words. 

Second, he must be able to explain them properly. 

Hence, the interpreter must demand satisfactory reasons 
for believing in any particular explanation, and build his 
opinion respecting the sense of any passage on such rea- 
sons. These reasons must be based on the usage, the con- 
text, the nature of the subject, and the design of the 
writer. 

In order to interpret the Sacred Writings properly, 
there are desirable helps : 

1. No one will be likely to get the true meaning of 
the Scriptures unless he approaches their study with the 
right aim and in a truth-loving spirit; such a spirit as 
David had, when he said: "I will hear what God the 
Lord will speak;" and, '-With my whole heart have I 
sought thee;" and, "Order my steps in thy word, and let 
not any iniquity have dominion over me." 

2. He must have a general and special knowledge of 
the word of God, its object, arrangement, and contents; 
and of the world and the tinners that are in it. This 



IN TERPRE TA T/OA r . 3 5 

knowledge is gained by reading, observation, and study. 

It is a good thing to be acquainted with the original 
languages in which the Bible was written; to be thor- 
oughly conversant with sacred geography, with Bible 
history, manners and customs, with the natural history 
of the Bible, and with Church history. 

It should not be forgotten that the Scriptures are to be 
interpreted by the same rules as other books. While we 
should approach their study with the sincere and trv.th- 
loving spirit of an honest heart, yet it is nothing short 
of fanaticism to despise literature and general study of 
language, and refer everything merely to the influence of 
the Spirit. 

It is well stated in the following words that, {b If the 
Scriptures be a revelation to men, then are they to be 
read and understood by men. If the same laws of lan- 
guage are not observed in this revelation as are common 
to men, then they have no guide to the right understand- 
ing of the Scriptures; and an interpreter needs inspira- 
tion as much as the original writer. It follows, of course, 
that the Scriptures would be no revelation in themselves, 
nor of any use except to those who are inspired. But 
such a book the Scriptures are not ; and nothing is more 
evident than that when God has spoken to men, he has 
spoken in the language of men — for he has spoken by 
men, and for men." 

If every man has the right, and is bound to read the 
Scriptures, and to judge for himself what they teach, he 
must have certain rules to guide him in the exercise of 
this privilege and duty. These rules are not arbitrary. 
They are not imposed by human authority, and they have 



36 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

no binding force which does not flow from their own in- 
trinsic truth and propriety. They are few and simple. 

1. The words of Scripture are to be taken in their plain 
and most obvious historical sense. That is, they must be 
taken in the sense attached to them in the age and by 
the people to whom they were addressed. u This only as- 
sumes that the sacred writers were honest, and meant to 
be understood." 

An old writer says; "The Scripture can not be under- 
stood theologically until it is understood grammatically." 
Hence, the first thing is to get the true grammatical and 
historical meaning of words. 

2. If any passage of Scripture is obscure or doubtful, 
explain it by what is plain and clear. This rule is not 
appropriate to the Scriptures only; it is adopted by all 
good interpreters of other writings. It is a rule which 
common sense prescribes, and is, therefore, well grounded. 
If a passage admits of different interpretations, that only 
can be the true one which agrees with what the Bible 
teaches elsewhere on the same subject. Hence, Scripture 
must explain Scripture. 

3. Every interpretation should harmonize with the 
design of the writer, and with the context; hence, we 
should ascertain the writer's aim and outline of thought 
by studying sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and even 
whole books if necessary. The certainty of any exegesis 
is connected with the design of the discourse. 

4. Consider the peculiarities and circumstances of the 
writer. This will include his character and mission ; the 
times in which he lived; the country in which he lived, 
with its manners and customs; the opinions with which 



INTERPRETATION. 37 

he was familiar and which he opposed or defended; and 
the language in which he wrote. 

There can be no doubt but that these rules are of the 
greatest importance in order to the proper understanding 
of the word of God. But, as has already been suggested, 
nothing is more necessary than an humble and teachable 
disposition of mind. 

Few things — perhaps nothing— are more hostile to the 
pursuit of truth than self-conceit and pride of intellect ; 
and there is no temper more offensive to the great Author 
of religious truth than a proud and self-sufficient dispo- 
sition. 

Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect to the 
lowly; but the proud he knoweth afar off. Every one 
who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. 
God resisteth the proud, but givetli grace to the humble. 
The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will 
he teach his way. And he who would be a successful in- 
terpreter of the word of God must unite with a compe- 
tent intelligence, a profound reverence and humility, in 
exploring the depths of heavenly wisdom. 



3$ THE STANDARD MANUAL. 



CHAPTER III — THE PROPER DIVISION OF 
THE WORD. 

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that 
needeth not to he ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 
—II. Timothy ii. 15. 

No more important rule than this can be given to a 
religious teacher. It is quite as important to the Sun- 
day-school teacher as to the teacher in the pulpit ; for 
their work, as teachers, is the same, the difference being 
mainly that between the mature minds addressed from 
the pulpit, and the immature minds dealt with in the 
Sunday-school. 

It is a question of doubt as to the allusion of the 
Apostle in the language of the text — whether to the 
dissection of an animal offered in sacrifice, or to carving, 
or to plowing, or to the work of the carpenter. But, 
whatever the allusion, the lesson taught is clear, namely, 
that the word of God is to be handled skillfully, so that 
every portion of it shall be appropriated to its intended 
use —milk for babes (I. Peter ii. 2) ; strong meat for those 
of full growth (Hebrews v. 13, 14); portions for little 
children, young men and fathers (I. John ii. 12, 13); 
messages of former ages for those to whom they were 
addressed (Romans iii. 19); the message of the '-last 
days," for all subsequent times, and all peoples, nations, 
kindreds, and tongues (Hebrews i. 1, 2; Mark xvi. 15, 



THE PROPER DIVISION OE THE WORD. 39 

1G); messages for sinners to call them to repentance and 
salvation (Luke xxiv. 47) ; and messages to Christians, 
to instruct them in the ways of the new life (Colossians 
ii. 6, 7). 

The instruction to Timothy to divide the word of truth 
properly, implies not only that this word is made up of 
different portions, capable of division, but that these 
divisions are so related to each other as to constitute, 
when properly combined, one harmonious whole; and 
that, if the proper relations of each division to all the 
other divisions is disregarded, and we wrongly divide the 
word of truth, the truth is distorted and fails to accom- 
plish its purpose. 

That this maybe appreciated, let it be noted that what 
we call, by way of eminence, the Bible, or the Book, is 
not a single production of one author, written at one 
time, in one language, and addressed to one people, for 
one object; nor is it an encyclopa3dia, in which the con- 
tributions of various contemporaneous authors combine 
to make one complete work ; nor is it made up of the 
working authors, trained in one school, and perpetuating, 
from age to age, the peculiarities of doctrine taught in 
that school. What we call the Old Testament is made up 
of thirty-nine distinct books, by about thirty different 
authors; and the first and last of these authors were one 
thousand years apart. They lived in different countries, 
as well as in different ages, belonged to various spheres 
of life, were very variant in the character and degrees of 
their culture, and each one spoke or wrote with a special 
object in view. 

They are books, too, of very different character. Some 



40 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

of them are historical; some are merely chronicles taken 
from the national archives of the Jews ; some are poetical; 
one (the Book of Job) is supposed to be dramatic; others 
are didactic; while still others — as the books of the 
major prophets — combine more or less of all these char- 
acteristics. 

In the New Testament we have twenty-seven books, by 
eight different writers, and these may be classed as bio- 
graphical, historical, epistolary, and prophetic. Of these 
twenty-seven different productions, twenty-one are epis- 
tles, written by five different authors -some of them ad- 
dressed to churches, some to communities of a particular 
race, and some to individuals; but each with its own dis- 
tinct object in view. They were probably all written 
within a period of sixty years. 

Now, take into view these sixty six different produc- 
tions of about forty different authors, covering a period 
of about sixteen hundred years, and — while we admit 
and are ready to prove that there is a golden thread of 
divine purpose stretching over all this period, on which 
all these books are strung; a unity of plan, and, hence, 
a unity of origin, which warrants their combination into 
one book as a connected divine relation — it is evident that 
we can not understand the unity of the books of the 
Bible if we do not understand their divinity; and that 
we can not rightly combine their teachings if we do not 
know how to divide rightly the word of truth. 

If, now, we are asked, How shall we come into posses- 
sion of the knowledge necessary to enable us to divide 
the word of truth rightly? we are brought to the an- 
nouncement of what we regard as the first important rule 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 41 

to be observed by all who would be skillful teachers of 
the word of truth : 

The first essential is a good general knowledge of the 
Bible as a whole. 

There can be no intelligent proceeding without this. 
He who attempts to separate into parts that of which he 
knows nothing in its combinations, will necessarily work 
blindly and ruinously. This will be seen to be especially 
true in this case, since all our knowledge of the proper 
divisions of the word of truth must be gathered from the 
Bible itself. As well trust one to dissect a human body, 
who knows nothing of its anatomy, as to trust him to 
divide rightly the word of truth who is ignorant of the 
combinations of truth in this wonderful volume. It can 
not be too strongly emphasized, that, as a foundation for 
all successful analysis of the Scriptures, there must be a 
general acquaintance with these Scriptures as a whole. 
In no one thing are Sunday-school teachers, as a class, 
more deficient than in this. They are constantly at- 
tempting to unfold parts of that truth of which, as a 
system, they are ignorant. A skillful scientist may take 
a single bone of an animal, and, from his general knowl- 
edge of animal structures, proceed to describe the whole 
organization of the animal, though he never saw it. But 
what can he do with a single bone who is ignorant of all 
anatomical laws and structures? Just as much as he 
can do with a single text who knows nothing of God's 
revelation as a whole. We therefore insist, as an essen- 
tial prerequisite to success in dividing the word of truth, 
that the teacher shall be well grounded in a general 

knowledge of the Old and New Testaments. 
4 



42 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

This being gained, we shall be at no loss for landmarks 
to guide us into proper divisions of these broad realms of 
divine revelation. Take, for instance, this opening sen- 
tence in the Epistle to the Hebrews: 

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners [rather, 
'in many parts and in many ways'] spake in time past unto 
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto 
us by his Son." 

Here is one grand division, divinely marked. Observe, 
it is the same God who speaks in all these revelations. 
There is, therefore, a unity of purpose in the Old and 
the New. But, in the method of communicating, and in 
the truth communicated, and in the channels of communi- 
cation, there are marked differences. 

THEN. NOW. 

In times past. In these last days. 

In many parts, running over In one comprehensive rev- 

a period of 1,500 years elation, made within a 

In many ways, such as dreams, few years. 

visions, oracles, etc. In one glorious gospel of 

To the fathers by the grace. 

prophets. To all the world by his Son. 

This gives us the broad division which we now know 
as that between the Old and New Testaments. 

Let us now see if there are any divisions of the word 
of truth in the Old Testament. We shall expect to find 
such, from the fact already announced, that God formerly 
spoke by the prophets "in many parts and in many ways." 
Listen : 

" These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was 
yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were writ- 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 43 

ten in the law of Mo es, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, 
concerning me." — Luke xxiv. 44. 

There is a threefold division of the Old Testaments 
It was not an arbitrary division, nor yet was it made by 
our Lord by divine inspiration ; but one which had grown 
into use among the Jews as the result of the study of 
these various books. This was the division as it was known 
among the Jews of that time : 

1. The Law — including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 
Numbers, Deuteronomy. 

2. The Prophets, or Teachers — including Joshua, 
Judges, the two books of Samuel, and the two books of 
Kings (these were termed the former 'prophets ; Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, 
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, 
and Malachi (these were termed the latter jwophets). 

3. The Hagiographa, or Holy Writings — which in- 
cluded the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Songs of Solomon, 
Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, 
Nehemiah, and the two books of Chronicles. 

We give the division according to the books as they are 
now found in our canon, though the Jews, comprehend- 
ing all in twenty-two books, according to the number of 
letters in their alphabet, included several books under 
one head that are now separate. 

This threefold division may be regarded as — 

(1.) Historical. 

(2.) Prophetical. 

(3 ) Didactical and Devotional. 

True, they overlap. The first division is not without 
prophecy and devotional utterances. The second is not 
destitute of history and song. The third has history and 



44 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

prophecy as well as devotion ; nor are any of the divis- 
ions destitute of didactics. But the division is based on 
►their main features. 

The first division presents the grand features in the 
history of our race, from the creation of that important 
period in the development of the redemptive purposes of 
Jehovah, when he chose the Jewish nation for his own 
and revealed himself in lata as their Sovereign. All the 
subsequent revelations in the Old Testament and the 
New are based on this. 

The second division embodies the history of the efforts 
to hold this people to that law — their obediences and re- 
wards, their disobediences and punishments; the labors 
of the prophets to instruct, warn, rebuke, or comfort 
them, according as they were obedient or disobedient. 

The third division comprehends the didactic wisdom 
and devotional sentiment —the morals and piety which 
were the outgrowth of the study of the law and the 
prophets. 

It will be seen at a glance that this threefold division 
is significant, and that, in rightly dividing the word of 
truth, it needs to be observed. To put the Hagiographa 
in place of the Law, or the Prophets in place of either, 
would distort the truth and produce hopeless confusion. 

There are other divisions which may be made for con- 
venience, and for classification in study. The Old Test- 
ament contains — 

a. History. e. Type. 

b. Biography. f. Prophecy. 

c. Poetry. g. Ethical Instruction. 

d. Law. A. Religious Sentiment. 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 45 

If we select any one of these for investigation, we must 
make a division of the word of truth, such as the investi- 
gation demands. For instance, if history be the selection, 
we may properly divide the Old Testament history into 
periods. 

1. From the creation to the deluge. 

2. From the deluge to the call of Abraham. 

3. From the call of Abraham to the giving of the law. 

4. From the giving of the law to the settlement in 
Canaan. 

5. The period of the Judges. 

6. From the beginning of the reign of Saul to the 
close of the reign of Solomon. 

7. The history of the ten tribes from Jeroboam to the 
captivity. 

8. The history of the two tribes from Rehoboam to 
the captivity. 

9. From the captivity to the close of Old Testament 
history. 

This should be followed by the study of some work, 
like that of Prideaux, on the connection between the Old 
and New Testament history. 

But "the study of the Old Testament should be in the 
full light of this truth — that it contains a gradual un- 
folding of the purposes of God respecting our race ; and 
that while it is perfect as a gradual development of great 
designs, it is not perfect as a complete revelation. It does 
not contain the gospel, except in promise and in type. 
It tells how God dealt with sinners in former times, but 
it does not tell how God deals with sinners now. It shows 
how God dealt with men under law, but it does not show 



46 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

how God deals with men under grace. It shows how 
God prepared the way for the Savior, and the salvation 
which the New Testament reveals, but it contains only 
dim and distant revelations of that Savior and that sal- 
vation. Its revelations were "in many parts and in many 
ways," a line upon line, precept upon precept, here a lit- 
tle and there a little," in methods suited to the child- 
hood and youth of the race (Galatians iv. 1-7) ; but the 
final revelation of God to humanity in its manhood is 
made through his Son. The prophets of the olden time 
were stars that shone in the long night of ignorance and 
sin. Jesus Christ is the "San of Righteousness/' in 
whose overpowering light all the-e lesser lights pale into 
nothingness. 

This leads us to notice another division, fully warranted 
by all the facts presented in the Old and New Testament 
Scriptures, namely : 

Three Dispensations, 

Succeeding each other, and all necessary to the full reve- 
lation of the divine purposes. These are — 

1. The Patriarchal, reaching from the fall of man to 
the giving of the law. 

2. The Jewish, or Mosaic, reaching from the giving of 
the law to the death of the Messiah. 

3. The Christian, or Messianic, reaching from the res- 
urrection and exaltation of the Messiah to the end of the 
world. 

The characteristics of these dispensations may be given 
thus: 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD, 47 

(1.) The Family. (1.) Domestic. 

(2.) The State. or, (2.) National. 

(3.) The Church. (3.) Ecumenical or Universal. 

In the Patriarchal Dispensation religion belonged to 
the family. The father of the family was prophet, priest 
and king to all under his authority. Revelations were 
made "in many parts and in many ways." 

In the Jewish Dispensation God's purposes were given 
in trust to the nation. Jehovah was its King, and under 
him were such prophets, priests, and kings as he chose to 
appoint. 

In the Christian Dispensation the Church is God's 
grand institution. Jesus the Christ is Prophet, Priest, 
and King, and his subjects are gathered from all nations, 
kindreds and tongues. 

He, therefore, can not rightly divide the word of truth 
who fails to keep in view these gradual developments of 
the purposes of Jehovah. The whole of the Old Testa- 
ment must be studied as introductory to the New. 

Before we leave this part of our subject, let us point 
out the tcses of the Old Testament to us. 

1. As already repeatedly intimated, it has universal 
Value as unfolding, through four thousand years, gradu- 
ally and progressively, the purpose of God to give a Savior 
to the world. In the New Testament we have " the full 
corn in the ear;" in the Old we have the planting of the 
seed, its germination, the appearance of the blade, its 
growth, and the formation of the ear. 

2. It gives us the only trustworthy history of the ear- 
liest ages of the world — the creation of man, his fall, the 
origin of nations and races / etc. — records which, often 



48 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

challenged, are, from age to age, more fully confirmed by 
the revelations of science and the unearthed memorials 
of ancient times. 

3. Its revelations of God, as he gradually unfolded him- 
self to the apprehension of mortals, are worthy of the 
most devout and adoring contemplation. 

4. Its revelations of man — all the phases of human 
nature and human character — are wonderful. No such 
hook of human nature is elsewhere to be found. The 
severe, exact truthfulness with which human lives are 
daguerreotyped enables us to study man in all the un- 
foldings of his nature, under every variety of circum- 
stance, as he can nowhere else be studied. 

5. As a storehouse of prophetic evidences, all pointing 
forward to the coming of the Messiah, it supplies a basis 
of Christian faith of untold value. 

G. There are universal truths, which belong to no one 
age, or country, or race, but are always and everywhere 
the same. These belong alike to the domains of morals 
and religion. The Old Testament abounds in these. 
And, hence, "the things that were written aforetime 
were written for our learning, that we through patience 
and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." — 
Romans xv. 4. 

The value of the Old Testament, as expressed in the 
New, may be learned from such passages as these: 

"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal 
life: and they are they which testify of me."— John v. 39. 

"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded 
unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." 
— Luke xxiv. 27. 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 49 

" From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which 
are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is 
in Christ Jesus." — II. Timothy iii. 15. 

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profit- 
able for- doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction m 
righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto all good works." — II. Timothy iii. 16, 17. 

"All these things happened unto them for ensamples: and 
they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of 
the world [Jewish ages] are come;" — I. Corinthians x. 11. 

For all these purposes we may legitimately and profit- 
ably employ the Scriptures of the Old Testament. 

The New Testament. 

We come now to the New Testament. Right at the 
start, we notice one differential attribute of this collec- 
tion of books. The Old Testament, in all its revelations, 
was based on the conception of one God. "Hear, O 
Israel: Jehovah our God is one God." — Deuteronomy 
vi. 4. This was the corner-stone of that system. But 
the New Testament concerns itself mainly with an addi- 
tional revelation, which becomes the corner-stone of a new 
spiritual temple, namely, that Jesus of Nazareth is the 
Son of God. This is the rock on which Jesus said he 
would build his church. — Matthew xvi. 16-18; I. Co- 
rinthians iii. 11; Ephesians ii. 19-22; I. Peter ii. 6. 
This Son of God — Immanuel, God with us — is the grand 
center of New Testament revelations. 

In Nature, God is manifest in his works. 

In the Patriarchal Dispensation God was manifest pe- 
culiarly in his providences. Hence, the creed of the patri- 
archal age was, as Paul expresses it, in reference to Enoch, 



50 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

" He that conieth to God must believe that he is, and that 
he is a re warder of them that diligently seek him." — 
Hebrews xi. 5, 6. 

In the Jewish Dispensation God was manifest in 
words— in law. 

But in the Christian Dispensation God is manifest in 
flesh. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us 
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begot- 
ten of the Father), full of grace and truth." — John i. 14. 
God with us, and God in us, is the culminating glory of 
divine revelation. "God is in Christ, reconciling the world 
unto himself." — II. Corinthians v. 19. "Who of God is 
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifica- 
tion, and redemption." — I. Corinthians i. 30. It is no 
longer God dimly shadowing forth his presence through 
his works, "if, haply, we may seek after him and find 
him;" nor God approaching usia mysterious, striking and 
awful providences, to give us a gleam of his presence and 
cheer a dark world with an occasional smile of his fatherly 
love; nor God proclaiming his mighty sovereignty in 
words of law where thunder-tones make us forget all else 
but his resistless might and his unapproachable holiness : 
it is God revealed in man — "the man Christ Jesus," 
bringing him to us on the plane of our own life, where he 
identifies himself with us in the weaknesses and sor- 
rows of our lot, and bears our nature, through all its weak- 
nesses and woes, to glorious and immortal victory over sin 
and death, and exalts it to kingly power in the skies. 
Henceforth our faith to rest in a Person, and our highest 
good to be gained by following a divine-human Leader. 

Another peculiarity which strikes us as giving dis- 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 51 

tinction to the New Testament is, that it is a revelation 
not of law, but of grace. "The law was given by Moses; 
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." — John i. 17 
Moses. Christ. 

Law. Grace. 

Type or Shadow. Truth or Reality. 

It will be seen then, that we are in another atmos- 
phere. The stars of night have faded away. John the 
Baptist, the morning-star — -heralding the sun — shines 
with a brief and waning radiance. Then comes the glo- 
rious "Sun of Righteousness, with healing in his beams," 
and the whole world soon rejoices in the Light of Life. 

I. The Gospels. — We have already stated that in this 
New Testament we have five biographies or memoirs. 
While each has a distinct character of its own, they all 
have a common object and unite in a common demonstra- 
tion. We can not here take space to discuss their differ- 
ential characteristics. That is a nicety of distinction 
which is outside of our purpose. But, in rightly dividing 
the word of truth, we are concerned to know their com- 
mon object. This is very plainly- set forth. 

"Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order 
a declaration of those things which are most surely believed 
among us, even as they delivered them unto us, wnich from the 
beginning were eye-witnesses, and ministers of the w T ord; it 
seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of 
all tbings from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most 
excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty o< 
those things, wherein thou hast been instructed." — Luke i. 1-4. 

"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of hi* 
disciples, which are not written in this book: but these ar% 
written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 



52 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

of God; and that believing ye might have life through his 
name." — John xx. 80, 31. 

This is clear and decisive. These four memoirs have 
a well-defined object — to make us acquainted with Jesus 
of Nazareth, that we may be persuaded to trust in him 
as the promised Messiah, the Son of God, and find in 
him salvation. His incarnation, his infancy and child- 
hood ; his manhood, with its toils, its teachings, its mir- 
acles, its struggles with temptation, its tender compas- 
sions and perpetual benevolences, its meek endurance of 
wrong, its heroic contests with error and sin, its beautiful 
unfoldings of the mercy and saving-power of God; his 
death on the cross for our sins; his victory over death and 
ascension to heaven to reign at the Father's right hand 
until all his enemies are subdued: all this is set forth and 
attested as true, that sinners may learn to love and trust 
this Almighty Savior, and receive from him that mercy 
which he freely offers to all. 

We do not say that nothing else is to be learned from 
these books. Incidentally, there is much given that is of 
the greatest moment to believers; but the direct object 
of the writers was to produce faith in Jesus as the Christ, 
the Son of God. 

IT. Acts of Apostles. — The four Gospels leave the 
story incomplete. They relate to a period when the 
Jewish law was still in force — when the scribes and 
Pharisees still lawfully sat in Moses' seat, and taught 
authoritatively the lessons of that law. — Matthew xxiii. 
1-3. Our Lord was "born under the law" (Galatians iv. 
4), and kept the law. He established no Church while 
he was on earth. While he asserted his authority as a 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 53 

teacher, in setting forth the truth concerning his coming 
kingdom, he asserted no authority as King, or as Lawgiver, 
for this could not be until the authority of Moses and the 
prophets had expired. Moses and Elijah, the two most 
honored representatives of the law and the prophets, 
came, it is true, and laid down their honors at his feet, and 
a voice from heaven declared, "This is my beloved Son, 
in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." But this 
was only in the presence of a few chosen witnesses, who 
were charged to "tell the vision to no man until the Son 
of man be risen again from the dead" (Matthew xvii. 9); 
thus showing that the law and the prophets were not to 
cease, and that Jesus was not to succeed them in authority 
until after the resurrection. 

At the death of the Messiah, when he cried, "It is 
finished," the veil of the temple was rent in twain from 
the top to the bottom. There was an end to the veiled 
mysteries of that dispensation. Its priesthood, its altars, 
its sacrifices, ceased to have divine significance after "the 
Lamb of Grod," who taketh away the sin of the world, wa3 
offered in sacrifice. When Jesus rose from the dead, and 
was declared, by his resurrection, to be "the Son of God 
with power" (Romans i. 4), he announced the supreme 
authority which he was henceforth to exercise, conferred 
on his chosen apostles power to act in his behalf, and gave 
them in charge that gospel of salvation which was hence- 
forth to be preached in all the world, to every creature. — 
Matthew xxviii. 18-20; Mark xvi. 15, 16; Luke xxiv. 
46, 47. But, having done this, he ascended to heaven, 
leaving the seal of silence on their lips until they should 
be endued with power from on high. — Luke xxiv. 49; 



54 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Acts i. 1-5. Here these memoirs leave us. They lead 
us to believe in Jesus and to own him as the Christ, the 
Son of God, in whom alone is salvation; but the men to 
whom he has intrusted the great work of publishing his 
salvation, and opening the gates of the kingdom to such 
as desire to enter (Matthew xvi. 19). are bound to silence 
until their departing Lord shall send them word. 

It is here that the Book of Acts comes in with a dis- 
tinct object. It records the descent of the Holy Spirit, 
the endowment of the Apostles with wisdom to guide them 
into all truth, and power to confirm that truth with signs 
and wonders and mighty deeds, and their work in preach- 
ing the Gospel, making known the terms of salvation, 
turning sinners to God, and enlisting them among the 
followers of Jesus. It is not the object of this book so 
much to supply the materials of faith, as to show how 
those who are led to believe in Jesus may be brought 
into the enjoyment of pardon and into possession of all 
the blessings of the kingdom of heaven. It is a hook of 
conversions. In rightly dividing the word of truth, this 
is the portion to be given to anxious souls who are asking, 
"What must I do to be saved?" The four Gospels reveal 
the Savior : the Book of Acts reveals the salvat.on. 
The narrative of conversions embraces a great variety. 
There are Jews and Gentiles ; some of the best charac- 
ters, morally and religiously speaking, and some of the 
worst; ignorant and enlightened; furious persecutors 
and friendly inquirers; rich and poor; men and women; 
blind unbelievers taken out of the pit of despair; believers 
led to repentance ; believing penitents led to obedience ; 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 55 

and all — Jew and Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, bond and 
free, male and female — made one in Christ Jesus. 

Here, then, every sinner who desires to be saved may 
learn just what he must do to be saved. 

But we are made to feel, at the close of this book also, 
that the end is not yet. We learn clearly and fully of 
the conversion of sinners, and their enlistment in a new 
service ; but the record is quite meager as to their Chris- 
tian life. So we come to a third division of the New 
Testament. 

III. The Apostolical Epistles.— These are addressed 
not to sinners, but to saints. Their object is, not to show 
the way of salvation, but to teach the saved how to live 
so as to please God. Each has its own special object, 
and is to be interpreted in the light of that object; but 
all deal with some phase or phases of Christian faith, 
duty or privilege — unmastering errors, teaching Chris- 
tians the true basis of their confidence and hope; ac- 
quainting them with their dangers, their duties, their 
privileges, their hopes, and the obligations growing out 
of the exceeding riches of mercy in their redemption. 
It is not difficult to learn, from reading any of these 
epistles, what was the immediate object of the writer, 
and thus to learn to what particular wants it is to be 
applied. 

The Epistles to the Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, and 
I. John were written mainly for the correction of false 
views of Christian doctrine. 

The Epistles to the Corinthians were written with special 
regard to schismatical tendencies in that Church. 

The Epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 



56 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Thessalonians, the General Epistle of James, and I. Peter, 
were written also to correct erroneous and evil tenden- 
cies, but mainly to instruct in Christian duties and estab- 
lish believers in the faith and hope of the gospel. 

The Epistles of Jude and II. Peter were written in 
view of great spiritual perils, to guard Christians against 
the dangers of apostasy, and teach them how to live se- 
curely in the midst of these perils. 

The Epistles to Timothy and Titus consist of instruc- 
tions to preachers and teachers, relative to their conduct 
and their teaching. 

The Epistle to Philemon, while relating to personal and 
private affairs, is a model of courtesy, politeness, and 
brotherly intercession. 

Taking these Epistles together, we have instructions 
concerning — 

1. Personal righteousness and holiness. 

2. Marriage. 

3. Family relationships and duties — husband and wife, 
parent and child, brother and sister. 

4. Social life —hospitality, conduct at feasts, entertain- 
ment of strangers. 

5. Church relationships and duties — old and young, 
rich and poor, strong and weak, rulers and ruled, teachers 
and taught. 

6. Spiritual relations to the universe — the rank, dig- 
nity, present enjoyments and future inheritance of the 
children of God. 

7. Civil duties — governors and governed, masters and 
servants. 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 57 

8. Philanthropic duties — interest in humanity at large, 
labor for the welfare of man as man. 

9. Divine warnings and encouragements. 

Thus "the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto all good works. 7 ' 

In "rightly dividing the word of truth," the teacher 
will not take these instructions to Christians and apply 
them to sinners. Many sad and mischievous blunders 
are committed from inattention to this consideration. 
Give the children's bread to the children, and preach to 
sinners the gospel that is addressed to them. 

IV. The Revelation. — There yet remains a question 
of no little interest, though not immediately concerning 
our salvation or our duty. What shall be the fortunes 
of this great enterprise for the salvation of the world? 
Will it triumph? Will it be defeated? Will it have 
varying fortunes and triumph in the end ? To meet this 
not unlawful anxiety, we have a final book of prophecy, 
which, though in many of its symbolical details may be 
hard to understand, still impresses us with one unmis- 
takable assurance — that out of great tribulation, and 
after long and desperate conflict with the princes of dark- 
ness, the Church of God will rise to final victory; the 
kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our 
Lord and of his Christ; the universe will echo with the 
thundering outburst of praise: ''Alleluia! for the Lord 
God Omnipotent reigneth;" the New Jerusalem shall 
come down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride 
adorned for her husband ; the tabernacle of God shall be 
with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be 
his people, and God himself shall be with them and be 



58 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

their God; and God shall wipe away all tears from their 
eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, 
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain — for the 
former things are passed away. 

Conclusion. 

In conclusion, let us direct the teacher to two applica- 
tions of this exhortation to divide rightly the word of 
truth. 

I. It may have reference to the interpretation of the 
t nth itself, so that your pupils shall be led to a correct 
understanding of this or that portion of the word of God. 

II. It may refer to the application of the truth to your 
pupils, so that each shall receive the portion of meat 
suited to his wants. 

I. Under the first head, let us suggest, after the broad 
view we have taken of the divisions of the word of truth, 
the following as needful inquiries concerning any portion 
of Scripture under consideration: 

1. AVhere is ib found — in the Old Testament or in the 
New? If in the Old, is it in the Law, the Prophets, or 
the Hagiographa? If in the New, does it belong to the 
Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles, or the Apocalypse? 

2. Under what dispensation was it spoken — the Patri- 
archal, the Jewish, or the Christian? 

3. Who is the speaker— ^God, or Satan, or man? a good 
man or a bad one? 

4. To whom was it addressed — to an individual, a 
nation, a church? to believers or unbelievers? Jews, 
Pagans, or Christians? 



THE PROPER DIVISION OF THE WORD. 59 

5. What is the character of the communication — is it 
history, biography, prophecy, law, or gospel ? 

6. What was its immediate intention? 

7. All these being answered intelligently, there remains 
just one more inquiry: What is there in this that can be 
made profitable now — to me, to my pupils, to the Church, 
to the world? 

II. Under the second head, we submit the following * 
hints : 

1. Do not attempt to bring out of a passage what is 
not in it. Forced interpretations are sure to have their 
falseness discovered sooner or later. 

2. Try first to get your pupils to understand what the 
passage was intended to teach to those for whom it was 
originally intended; then suggest such lessons as you 
think may be drawn from it for general good. 

3. Understand well the spiritual standing of your 
scholars. If they are Christians, feed them with the 
children's bread; if they are unconverted, ply them with 
the gospel. 

4 Have in view the actual needs of your class — 
whether it be instruction, warning, rebuke, or encourage- 
ment; and make your selections of Scripture accordingly. 

5. Finally — guard against one-sided views of truth. 
Keep before your mind the whole range of gospel truth, 
and let no special interpretations war against the general 
tenor of Bible teaching. 

In this way you will be "approved unto God, a work- 
man that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing 
the word of truth.' 



60 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 



CHAPTER IV.— BIBLE HISTORY AND CHRO- 
NOLOGY. 

" Bible History," says Dr. Lange, " differs from the 
general history of the kingdom of God, in that it delin- 
eates only the foundation of this kingdom by means of, 
and during the course of, revelation. It traces, in his- 
torical succession, the narrative contained in the Scrip- 
tures in all its essential features. In the Old Testament 
it shows us all the elements of the life of faith, and sets 
before us many a precious example of faith and patience 
for our imitation ; while in the New Testament it exhib- 
its the history of faith and salvation ' made perfect,' both 
in the miracles and triumphs of the Lord, and in the 
deeds of his Apostles." 

As a department of useful knowledge it possesses an 
intrinsic value and interest surpassing whatever can be 
claimed for any other history. It covers a long period in 
the age of human society, whose chronicles, in an authentic 
form, have been nowhere else preserved. It runs back 
to the eventful epoch whence the world, in its present 
organic state, dates its existence; and furnishes the only 
reliable record of the origin of man, of his primitive 
condition, his fall, his subsequent development, and the 
fortunes of his family. "Adam lived nine hundred and 
thirty years, and he died." The history of man begins 
when those nine hundred and thirty years begin to be 



BIBLE HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY, 61 

counted. Within the Book itself we have the inspired 
reason for the chronicles that are given in the Old Testa- 
ment. I. Corinthians x. 11: "They are written for our 
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have come." 

Biblical history is the source of all we know of the 
period before the flood, and of the period after the flood, 
down to the time of Herodotus, who is called the "Father 
of History." 

It covers a period of four thousand years — from the 
time when man appears upon the earth, to the establish- 
ment of Christianity in all parts of the Roman Empire. 

" When considered in respect to the infallible sources 
whence it is derived, and the long flight of ages which 
it embraces, it must be regarded as possessing the high- 
est claims to our careful study." 

Bible history may be naturally divided into three great, 
though unequal, periods, extending from the creation of 
Adam— who is the first man found in any history, monu- 
ment, or inscription; whose name, time of his creation, 
and death are matters of record, and from whom his de- 
scendants can be traced by name and age, in successive 
links, for near four thousand years — to the death of 
Moses ; from the death of Moses to the birth of Christ ; 
and from the birth of Christ to the close of the New 
Testament, about the end of the first century. 

The first period covers not less than twenty-five hun- 
dred and fifty-three years; the second fourteen hundred 
and fifty-one years; and the third about one hundred 
years. 

These periods have been called the Patriarchal, the 
Mosaic, and the Christian. While these designations are 



62 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

not entirely satisfactory, they are as good, perhaps, as 
can be formed. Before the time of Moses, no one person 
appears to have been charged with introducing a religious 
polity which could fitly be called by his name. 

"God, however, revealed his will to faithful men from 
time to time, as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
and made it their duty to train up their families, at least, 
in his service and fear. 

"Whatever in that early period deserved the name of 
religious organization or order seems to have been es- 
tablished by these patriarchs, acting in obedience to God; 
and, therefore, with an eye to its leading teachers, the 
period may be called the Patriarchal. In the second 
period, by the agency of Moses, a religious polity was es- 
tablished for a single nation — a polity which brought the 
whole people into definite relations of formal service to 
God their King. It was a theocracy. 

"And in the third period was established, by the agency 
of Christ and his Apostles, a religious polity for mankind 
of all ages and climes — a polity to be accepted or rejected 
by every person, acting for himself in the sight of God, 
and which demands, as the primary condition of service, 
a new heart and a right spirit." 

We shall make the attempt to sketch the leading events 
and names of each period. 

I. From Adam to the Death of Moses. — The his- 
tory of this period of twenty-five hundred and fifty-three 
years is found in the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 
Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

Between Adam and the flood, sixteen hundred and 
fifty-six years, there are only four women whose names 



BIBLE HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY. 63 

have been preserved. These are Eve, Adah and Zillah, 
the wives of Lamech, the first polygamist, and his daugh- 
ter Naamah. 

After the sublime statement, that "In the beginning 
God created the heaven and the earth," the Bible is con- 
fined to the story of man. He was made in the image 
of God — intelligent, free and upright. Man was first 
made, then woman from man — husband and wife in fel- 
lowship with God and with each other. 

They were placed in a garden, to dress it and keep it, 
and the fruits of which they were permitted to eat — with 
one exception. By that one prohibition their fidelity 
was tested, and in the hour of temptation they fell. Thus 
sin entered, and the unhappy pair — self-condemned and 
condemned by their Maker — were expelled from the 
garden. But they were not left entirely without hope, 
for a Savior was promised, who was to be of the seed of 
the woman. 

Cain {gotten or acquired) was born, Abel (breath or 
transitoriness) was born — these grew up and began to 
observe the forms of worship for themselves, but the 
oldest without faith. Then came murder and the flight 
of Cain, and the separation of the infant race into two 
families and lines— one irreligious and the other religious. 

Seth (substituted) was born. The descendants of Cain 
were Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methusael, and Lamech. 
Lamech was the first to practice polygamy. Of his three 
sons, Jabal taught the art of tent-making; Jubal the use 
of musical instruments ; and Tubal-Cain the art of work- 
ing in metals. 

The descendants of Seth, who were given to Adam in 



64 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

the place of Abel, were Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, 
Enoch, Methuselah, Laraech, and Noah. 

Of these, Enoch was one of the best, and lived a life 
so well-pleasing to God that he never died, but "God 
took him," in the three hundred and sixty-fifth year of 
his age, after he had warned the evil-doers of his day 
against the impending judgment of God. 

Noah was commanded to build an ark, which was to be 
the means of the preservation of himself, and his wife, and 
his three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — and their 
wives, and two of every species of "unclean" birds and 
beasts, and seven of every species accounted "clean." 

The waters of the flood prevailed one hundred and 
fifty days, and then the ark rested on one of the peaks 
of Ararat. The ark was five hundred and forty-seven 
feet long, ninety-one feet wide, and fifty-four feet high, 
and its capacity eighty-one thousand tons burden. 

The genealogy of Jesus, the promised Savior, was pre- 
served through the line of Seth from Adam. Adam was 
one hundred and thirty years old when Seth was born, 
Seth was one hundred and five years old when Enos was 
born, Enos was ninety years old when Cainan was born, 
Cainan was seventy years old when Mahalaleel was born, 
Mahalaleel was sixty-five years old when Jared was born, 
Jared was one hundred and sixty-two years old when 
Enoch was born, Enoch was sixty-five years old when 
Methuselah was born, Methuselah was one hundred and 
eighty-seven years old when Lamech was born, Lamech 
was one hundred and eighty-two years old when Noah 
was born, Noah was five hundred and two years old 'when 
Shem was born; and Shem was ninety-eight years old 



BIBLE HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY. 65 

at the time of the flood. Adam lived contemporary with 
Methuselah two hundred and forty-three years, and 
Methuselah with Shem for ninety-eight years, Methuselah 
dying the year of and before the deluge. 

Alter the flood, the human race, through the family of 
Noah, started on a new career. God made a covenant 
with Noah that the people of the world should no more 
be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither should there 
be any more a flood to destroy the earth — and the bow 
in the cloud was thereafter to be a token of the covenant 
between God and Noah. The sons of Noah — Shem, Ham, 
and Japheth — went out from the ark and possessed the 
earth. For one hundred and three years there was but 
one speech and one language. As they increased in num- 
bers, it became evident that sin had not entirely perished 
in the flood. 

In the plain of Shinar they began to build a tower, 
which was called Babel (confusion), and which they de- 
signed should reach to heaven. This tower was six hun- 
dred and fifty feet high, and was one quarter of a mile 
square at the base. God frustrated their design by con- 
founding their language, and they were scattered over the 
earth. 

Abram, the son of Terah, was born nineteen hundred 
and ninety-six years B. C, in Ur of the Chaldees. Sev- 
enty-five years after, in obedience to the divine command, 
he left Ur and went into Canaan, taking with him his 
wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all that he possessed. 

When Abraham was one hundred years old Isaac was 
born, who walked in the footsteps of his father, believing 
in God. When Isaac was sixty years old Jacob was born, 



66 THE STANDARD MANUAL, 

who accepted the faith and inherited the blessing from 
his father Isaac. When Jacob was ninety one years old 
Joseph was born, who afterward, 1716 B. C, became 
Governor of Egypt. When famine came upon the land 
of Canaan, Joseph invited his father and his brethren, a 
colony of seventy persons, to settle in Egypt. This in- 
vitation was accepted, and they settled peaceably in 
Goshen, in the year 1706 B. C. During the time 1996- 
1706, from the call of Abram to the descent into Egypt, 
many events of great interest transpired. Melchizedek, 
king of Salem and priest of God, lived; in 1897 B. C, 
God renewed his covenant with Abram, and his name was 
changed to Abraham; the rite of circumcis on was insti- 
tuted; Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of 
their wickedness; Abraham's faith was severely tried by 
the command to offer Isaac, his son, as a burnt-offering; 
Sarah died at Hebron ; Esau sold his birthright to Jacob ; 
Jacob had a vision of a ladder reaching from earth to 
heaven, on which the angels of God ascended and de- 
scended. He also had a vision at Mahanaim, and wrestled 
with an angel at Peniel, and his name was changed to 
Israel (a 'prince of God), In 1715 B. C. the seven 
years of plenty began in Egypt; in 1708 B. C. the years 
of famine began, and in 1706 B. C. Jacob and his family 
went down from Canaan into Egypt. The children of 
Israel were in Egypt from 1706 B. C. to 1491 B. C, a 
period of two hundred and fifteen years. The whole land 
of the Egyptians, except that of the priests, was bought 
by Joseph for corn. When Jacob was about to die, he 
first blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, 
and then his sons, and predicted their subsequent history. 



BIBLE HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY. 67 

To Judah was assigned the blessing of the first-born, with 
the promise that from him the Savior should descend. 
The remains of Jacob were borne back in great state to 
Palestine, and laid beside those of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Sarah, in the cave of Machpelah, at Hebron. This oc- 
curred sixteen hundred and eighty-nine years B. C. 

In 1571 B. C, Moses, the son of Amram and Jochebed, 
was born. About this time an order was given to cast 
all the male children of the Israelites into the Nile. 
Aaron, the brother of Moses, was born in 1574 B. C. 
About the same time, Job, of Idumea, an Arabian sage, 
is supposed to have written the book which bears his 
name. By some Job is supposed to be the Jobab of 
I. Chronicles i. 44. 

Moses was educated at the court of Pharaoh, in a 
manner becoming the position of an adopted child of the 
king's daughter. 

At forty years of age he slew an unmerciful Egyptian 
task-master, and hid his body in the sand. When he 
found that the murder was no secret, he fled to the land 
of Midian, where he lived for forty years. Here he mar- 
ried Zipporah, a daughter of Jethro, priest of Midian, 
and followed the occupation of a shepherd. 

In 1491 B. C. the Lord appeared to him in a burning 
bush in Horeb, and appointed him to deliver the Israel- 
ites from bondage. 

Before the deliverance from Egypt was effected, ten 
plagues were inflicted upon the Egyptians — the water of 
the Nile was turned into blood; the plague of frogs, of 
lice, of flies; murrain among cattle; plague of boils and 
blisters; thunder and hail, with lightning; locusts; dark- 



68 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

ness; and the destruction of the first-born of man and 
boast. Before the last plague was executed, the passovei 
was instituted, the Lord sparing the first-born of Israel 
if the lintels and side-posts of the doors of their houses 
were sprinkled with blood, when he passed through the 
land to destroy the first-born of the Egyptians. 

Pharaoh finally allowed the people to go out of the 
country, and then repented and pursued them. He and 
his army were destroyed in the Red Sea, after the chil- 
dren of Israel had passed safely over. 

The three great events of this time were: (1) The 
crossing of the Red Sea ; (2) the giving of the law from 
Mount Sinai; and (3) the making of the tabernacle. 
The great changes to which the Israelites were subjected 
were: (1) Getting out of bondage; (2) going into the 
wilderness; and (3) entering upon a new life, in new 
homes, and under new laws. 

The law was given in 1491 B. C. The Lord descended 
in fire on the mountain, and called Moses to the top. The 
law was given to him, engraved on two tables of stone by 
the finger of God. The people grew impatient at the 
long absence of Moses, and induced Aaron to make a 
golden calf that they might worship it 

In 1490 the tabernacle was made, God giving instruc- 
tions as to how it should be constructed. It was forty- 
five feet long, fifteen feet wide, and fifteen feet high; the 
court of the tabernacle was one hundred and seventy- 
five feet long, fifty feet wide, and five feet high. During 
the march from Mount Sinai to Canaan the patience of 
Moses was severely tried many times, by the murmurings 
and insubordination of the people. None, except Caleb 



BIBLE HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY. 69 

and Joshua, of those who were twenty years old and up- 
ward, when they came out of Egypt, were permitted to 
enter into the promised land. Even Moses, the great 
leader, who often saved the people, was not permitted to 
enter Canaan. He led the people to the borders of it, 
and then, after making his farewell address, and pro- 
nouncing his last blessing, he died upon Nebo, "in the 
land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord." He 
died at the age of one hundred and twenty years, and 
God buried him, and his sepulcher has always remained 
unknown. 

II. From the Death of Moses to the Birth of 
Christ. — After the death of Moses the children of Israel 
crossed over the river Jordan into Canaan, under the 
leadership of Joshua. He led them for twenty-five years, 
dying in 1426 B. C. 

There were four great events in the life of Joshua 
which are worthy of special attention : (1) The dividing 
of the waters of the Jordan ; (2) the siege and capture 
of Jericho ; (3) the capture of Ai ; and (4) the defeat of 
the five Canaanite kings at the battle of Beth-horon. This 
great battle was followed by the conquest of the kings 
of Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, and Hebron. 
In less than seven years after Joshua entered the land of 
Canaan he conquered six nations and thirty-one kings. 

Upon the death of Joshua the people were governed 
for fifteen years by elders who outlived Joshua. There 
were great disorders during this period, owing to the 
heathen sympathies of the, tribes. Their condition grew 
worse, and God withdrew his presence from them. When 
they repented, God heard their cry and raised them up 



70 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Judges, or deliverers, who were made the instruments to 
save them from their enemies. The following is the order 
in which these Judges appeared, and the time of the gov- 
ernment of each: Othniel, forty years; Ehud, thirteen 
years; Shamgar, eighteen years; Deborah and Barak, 
forty-seven years; Gideon, forty years; Tola, twenty- 
three years; Jair, twenty-two years; Jephtha, six years; 
Ibzan, seven years; Elon, ten years; Abdon, eight years; 
Samson, twenty years; Eli, forty years; and Samuel, 
twenty years, making in all about three hundred and 
fourteen years. The terms of these Judges, together 
with the periods of oppression and rest mentioned in the 
Book of Judges, amount to four hundred and fifty years, 
as stated, Acts xiii. 20; but, as the entire interval, from 
the exodus in 1491 B. C. to the building of Solomon's 
temple B. C. 1011 is only four hundred and eighty years, 
all of these periods can not have been successive. Dif- 
ferent Judges may have ruled in different parts of the 
land at the same time. This will serve to explain the 
difference in the two statements made as to the length of 
time the Judges ruled Israel. 

The times of the Judges were marked by three great 
evils : a declension of interest in the religion which God 
had given them; a want of unity among the tribes; and 
the consequent weakness before their foes. Hence, there 
was pressing need of a religious reformation, a strong 
central government, and victory over their enemies. To 
accomplish this three remarkable men were raised up — 
Samuel, Saul, and David. Toward the end of his judge- 
ship, the people, seeing that his sons were not likely to 
follow in his footsteps, the elders of Israel solicited the 



BIBLE HISTORY AND. CHRONOLOGY. 71 

appointment of a king. The request was granted, and 
Saul was privately anointed by Samuel, but afterward 
publicly chosen and confirmed at Mizpeh. Saul was 
king from 1095 B. C. to 1055 B. C, a period of forty 
years. 

After Saul had been deprived of the kingdom, David, 
the youngest son of Jesse, became king and reigned over 
Israel for forty years. He was succeeded on the throne 
by his son Solomon, who reigned for forty years in Jeru- 
salem. The reign of Solomon was one of peaceful splen- 
dor, and was in strong contrast with the wars of his 
father David. u It presents a type of the kingdom of 
Christ in its extensive sway and prosperous abundance 
(Psalm lxxii.), as the reign of David does of its victo- 
ries and of its triumphing over all opposition (Psalm ii. )." 

Solomon was succeeded by his son Rehoboam, who, by 
his foolish refusal to listen to the counsel of the old men 
of his kingdom, brought about the permanent division of 
the kingdom. Ten tribes rebelled against the house of 
David, and chose Jeroboam king, so that from that time 
onward there were the two rival kingdoms of Israel and 
Judah. 

The kingdom of Israel, consisting of the ten tribes, 
continued for two hundred and fifty-four years, or from 
B. C. 975 to B. C. 721, when the ten tribes were carried 
into captivity by Shalmanezer, King of Assyria, never 
to return; hence they are called the "lost tribes." 

The capital city was Samaria, built by Omri. The 
number of kings was twenty, beginning with Jeroboam 
and ending with Hoshea. The two tribes of Judah and 
Benjamin constituted the kingdom of Judah, which lasted 



72 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

for three hundred and eighty-seven years. It also had 
twenty kings, beginning with Rehoboam and ending with 
Zedekiah. B. C. 588 they were carried captive into 
Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. This was the end of Jew- 
ish independence. From that time the Jews were under 
Babylon, Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Rome, until A. D. 
70, when they were scattered to this day. 

During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar he set up a golden 
image on the plain of Dura, and commanded all his sub- 
jects to fall down and worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abednego, three Jewish youths who had been carried cap- 
tive into Babylon, refused, and were cast into a fiery fur- 
nace, but by divine aid they escaped unharmed. Daniel, 
also, a Jewish captive, rose to a very high position be- 
cause of his interpretation of the king's dream. 

Nebuchadnezzar died B. C. 562, and was succeeded by 
Evil-Merodach, who released Jehoiachin, the last of the 
royal line of Solomon who was accorded kingly honors. 
He was succeeded by Belshazzar, who reigned in Babylon 
for seventeen years. In B. C. 538 he made a great feast, 
and when in the midst of his drunken revelries some 
mysterious words were written on the wall. The king, 
very much alarmed, sent for Daniel, who interpreted the 
writing to mean that the end of the kingdom had come, 
and that it would be divided among the Medes and Per- 
sians; and that very night the city was captured by 
Cyrus, the Persian, and Belshazzar was slain. 

B. C. 536 Cyrus issued a decree for the return of the 
Jews to their country. The sacred vessels were restored, 
and the privilege to rebuild the temple was granted. For 
seventy years the people had been in captivity, and but 



BIBLE II 1ST OR Y AND CIIR ONOL OGY. 73 

few comparatively availed themselves of the privilege to 
return. The whole number who went back to Jerusalem s 
was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty Jews, and 
seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven servants. 
Although the foundations of the new temple were laid 
soon after this band of Jews returned to Jerusalem, on 
account of the opposition of the Samaritans, it was not 
completed until B. C. 515. 

In B. C. 458, another company of exiles, under Ezra, 
set out for Jerusalem. 

In B. C. 444 Nehemiah began to rebuild the walls 
around the city, and in fifty-two days the city was sur- 
rounded with new walls and the ancient towers. 

" There were sixteen prophets whose writings are pre- 
served in the Canon. They were distinguished by im- 
portant characteristics, and were a great power in their 
several periods of time. They were the national poets 
of the chosen people, the annalists and historians of their 
country, the outspoken patriots, the reformers of morals 
and pure religion, the preachers of righteousness, and ex- 
ponents of the law, and, most of all, the revealers of God's 
grand design of effecting our redemption through Jesus 
Christ. The sixteen prophets may be divided into four 
groups: Prophets of the Northern Kingdom — Hosea, 
Amos, Jonah; Prophets of the Southern Kingdom — Joel, 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 
Zephaniah ; Prophets of the Captivity — Ezekiel and 
Daniel; Prophets of tlie Return — Haggai, Zechariah, 
Malachi. 

" The four major prophets were Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, and Daniel ; the twelve minor pronhets — Hosea, 



74 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Ilabakkuk, 
Zephaniali, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi." 

From the time of Malachi to Christ, a period of three 
hundred and ninety-seven years, for the history of the 
Jews, we must consult uninspired records. Of these the 
most reliable are the writings of Josephus and the first 
book of the Maccabees, though something may be learned 
from Pagan sources. The nation was dependent upon 
foreign power, and its political condition very humilia- 
ting. Its religious condition was scarcely any better; so 
that when the Great Deliverer came but few were pre- 
pared to give him a hearty welcome. 

Of the history over which we have passed, the Book 
of Genesis embraces two thousand three hundred and 
sixty-nine years; Exodus, one hundred and forty-five 
years; Leviticus, one month; Numbers, thirty-eight years; 
Joshua, twenty-five years ; Judges, two hundred and sev- 
enty-one years; I. Samuel, one hundred and fifteen years; 
II Samuel, forty years; I. Kings, one hundred and nine- 
teen years; II Kings, three hundred and eight years; 
I. Chronicles, a genealogical history from the creation to 
the death of David, 1015 B. C. ; II. Chronicles, from the 
death of David until the captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, 
B. C, 588, being four hundred and twenty-seven years; 
Daniel, seventy years; Ezra, eighty years; Nehemiah, 
twelve years; and Malachi, twenty-three years, which 
brings us to the end of the Old Testament, three hun- 
dred and ninety-seven years before Christ. 

III. From the Birth of Christ to the End of the 
First Century. — The Christian era begins in the thir- 



BIBLE HIST OR V AND CUR OXOL OCT. 7$ 

tietli year of the reign of Augustus Caesar, and in what 
is known in history as the " golden age of Home/' 

In the New Testament history we have the description 
of the founding of a new religious economy, a spiritual 
kingdom, which is to fill the whole earth with the churches 
of Christ, 

Among the events worthy of special notice, up to the 
day of Pentecost when the Church of Christ was form- 
ally established and the second era of New Testament 
history begins, are the following: the birth of John the 
Baptist; the appearance of the angel to the shepherds, 
who visit Jesus; the circumcision of Jesus, and his pres- 
entation in the temple ; the visit of the wise men, and the 
flight into Egypt, and the return from Egypt; the baptism 
of Jesus in the Jordan; his temptation and its result; the 
marriage feast in Cana in Galilee ; after this Jesus goes up 
to Jerusalem to the Passover, and while there drives the 
traders out of the temple; after the imprisonment of 
John the Baptist he retires into Galilee for a time, and 
afterward, passing through Samaria, he makes disciples; 
he heals the leper and paralytic, and an infirm man at 
Bethesda in Jerusalem; he heals a man with a withered 
hand on the Sabbath, and teaches the lesson that the Sab- 
bath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; 
he preaches his memorable " Sermon on the Mount/' and 
raises the son of the widow of Nain ; the Scribes and 
Pharisees seek for a sign and are reproved; Jesus speaks 
in parables, and gives his reason why he uses them; the 
transfiguration and his discourse with the three disciples 
as they were descending the mountain; the seventy dis- 
ciples are sent out; Jesus visits Zaccheus, the chief of 



76 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

the publicans ; he prepares to eat the last Passover, and 
foretells the danger that would surround his disciples — - 
that Judas would betray him, and Peter would deny 
him, and that they all would be scattered; the prayer, 
the awful agony, and the betrayal in the garden; his 
trial, his sentence, and his crucifixion, his burial, and his 
resurrection; his great commandment to his Apostles and 
his ascension into heaven. 

After ten days the Pentecost came and the Apostles were 
endued with the promised power from on high. They then 
began to preach a crucified but risen Lord as the hope of the 
world. A great many became obedient to the faith. But 
the disciples were not to dwell in ease and comfort at 
home — they were persecuted and scattered abroad; but, 
wherever they went, they preached the vorcl. 

'•It appears, however, that none of the eleven Apostles 
were altogether fitted to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. 
But, among those who had been most engaged in exter- 
minating the new sect, was Saul — a young man of strict 
integrity, of heroic temper, who had been educated in 
the school of Gamaliel, a distinguished Pharisee. To 
him, on the way to Damascus, the Lord appeared in vis- 
ible splendor, making him a new man, and pronouncing 
him a chosen vessel to bear the truth to the Gentiles. In 
due time, though not hastily, he entered upon his work, 
and prosecuted it with great success. Nothing could 
surpass his energy, enterprise, firmness, flexibility, self- 
denial. He preached Christ in Syria, in Asia Minor, in 
Macedonia, in Achaia, and .in Borne. When the con- 
verted Jews were zealous for the law of Moses, insisting 
upon the circumcision of the Gentiles, he withstood this 



BIBLE HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY. 77 

attempt to unite Judaism with Christianity, and vindi- 
cated the freedom of the churches on Pagan soil. Xo 
Apostle did so much by his voice and pen for the spread 
of the gospel." 

The rest of the Apostles labored with great zeal, and 
declared the truth with such power that at the end of 
the first century almost every part of the known world 
had been reached, and the name of Jesus had been heard 
in the homes of all people; and the Church was well pre- 
pared for the conquest of the world. 



78 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 



CHAPTER V. — THE BIBLE DISPENSATIONS: 
WHAT THEY ABE, AND THEIB RE- 
LATIONS TO EACH OTHEB. 

" It must be remembered by him, who would be well 
instructed in the kingdom of heaven, that the whole 
Bible comprehends three distinct dispensations of religion, 
or three different administrations of mercy to the human 
race. These are the Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian 
ages of the world. There are three high-priesthoods, 
viz: that of Melchizedek, that of Aaron, and that of 
Jesus the Messiah; and under each of these will be found 
a different economy of things. A knowledge of the lead- 
ing peculiarities of each is essential to an accurate knowl- 
edge of any one of them, and the right interpretation of 
the Bible. It is a standing maxim in religion, that the 
priesthood being changed, there is of neccsiti/ a change 
of the law pertaining to acceptable worship. After the 
close of one dispensation, and the commencement of a 
new one, no man could be accepted in his approaches to 
God by the preceding economy. Moses, nor Aaron, nor 
the people of the Jews, after they departed from Sinai, 
dare approach God by sacrifice, as Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob were wont to do. Before we can feel any confi- 
dence in our interpretation of any law, commandment, or 
institution of religion, a previous question must always 
be decided, viz: To what dispensation did it belong?' 



THE BIBLE DISPENSATIONS. 79 

The Patriarchal Dispensation embraces the period be- 
tween the creation and the giving of the law of Moses; 
the Jewish, between the giving of the law and the coro- 
nation of Christ; and the Christian, between the coro- 
nation of Christ and his second coming in the clouds of 
heaven. 

The characteristics of each one of these dispensations, 
and their relation one to another, can be best understood 
by a review of the several covenants of God.* 

I. The Covenant of Life and Liberty. — When 
God created our first parents, he gave to them a guaran- 
tee of liberty and life, secured by an immutable charter, 
on condition of obedience. The seal of this covenant 
was the tree of life, by the fruit of which our progeni- 
tors might have lived forever. They did not keep the 
covenant, lost life and liberty, and were exiled from the 
Garden of Eden. — Genesis ii. iii. 

II. The Covenant with Noah. — Genesis ix. — The 
world had been destroyed by a flood on account of wick- 
edness. Noah and his family alone escaped. With these 
God made a covenant for all coming time, never again to 
repeat this calamity. Its seal was the bow in the cloud. 

III. The Covenant Concerning Abraham and His 
Posterity, j 

* The word covenant is of Latin origin— from two words cow, 
together, and venio, to come; and hence it literally means, a 
coming together. There are three things, either expressed or 
implied, in every covenant, viz : the covenanter, the covenantee, 
and the things stipulated. Hence, also, any promise of God 
may be caled a covenant. 

f Theie two covenants with Abraham are found in Genesis xii. 
1-3: "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and 



So THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

IV. The Covenant Concerning Christ. 

The student of the Bible will remember that when 
Adam and Eve were banished from the garden they were 
not left without a promise. — Genesis iii. 14, 15. Here is 
the first promise concerning Christ. The scd of the 
woman shall bruise the serpent's head. God having prom- 
ised deliverance and restoration through the seed of the 
woman, now makes choice of Abram as the one through 
whom this seed should come. "And in thy seed shall all 
the nations of the earth be blessed "— Genesis xxii. 18. 

" The word seed, as it occurs in some of thece passages, 
requires particular attention. At first this was probably 
understood, by Abraham himself, in a general sense, as 
including all his posterity ; but the promise was afterward 
limited to Isaac (Genesis xvii. 19-21); and then to 
Jacob (Genesis xxv. 23) ; and finally to Christ (Galatians 
iii. 8;. And, hence, the covenant of which this promise 
was made the basis, is by the same Apostle called, 'The 
covenant concerning Christ/ This is the same which is 
also frequently called the new covenant, and which is 

make thy name great; and thou shalt "be a b'essing: and I will 
bless them that bless thee, and curse him that eur^eth thee.'' So 
far it is a covenant with Abraham, with reference to his fleshly 
posterity. "And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." 
f Ihis is what Paulcalls the "covenant concerning Christ. 7 ' — 
Galatians iii. 17. Abram was to be blessed with a doubl i p s- 
terity — one purc'y of the flesh, the other of the Spirit. 'And if 
ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according 
to the promise."— Galatians iii. 20. These promises were re- 
peated again and again to Abraham, and renewel to I^aac and 
Jacob. Genesis xv. 5; xvii. 1-9; xviii. 18; xxii. 15-18; xxvi. 
1-5; xxviii. 10-16. 



THE BIBLE DISPENSATIONS. 81 

fully developed in the New Testament. And hence we 
find, moreover, that all the subjects of the new covenant 
are, by the divine arrangement, regarded and reckoned as 
the children of Abraham, and heirs according to the 
promise. — Romans iv. 11-16; Galatians iii. 7, 8, 29. 
But in these repeated promises of God to Abraham, there 
is obviously something more than what relates merely to 
Christ and the subjects of the new covenant. There is 
here also a promise of nationality which relates to Abra- 
ham's seed according to the flesh, and which was afterward 
made the basis of the Sinaic or old covenant. So this prom- 
ise was evidently regarded by Moses and other Hebrew 
prophets, as we find in the following passages — Exodus 
xxxii. 13 ; Joshua xxiii. 14. True, indeed, these two prom- 
ises or covenants were very closely connected. The latter 
had reference to the type, and the. former to the anti- 
type; and hence it is that they are often spoken of on 
the principle of double reference, as if they were identical. 
* * But that these covenants were, from the beginning, 
regarded by God as tw T o distinct arrangements, is perfectly 
clear from their different allegorical representations, given 
in the history of Hagar and Sarah." See Galatians iv. 
19-31. 

AYe must keep steadily in view the purpose of God to 
bring about redemption through the Christ, who was to 
be the seed of the icoman, and also the seed of Auraliam. 
Every other element is subordinate to this. There were 
two grand social institutions developed from the two great 
promises made to Abraham: one concerning his natural, 
the other concerning his spiritual offspring. "One family 
exhausts the first covenant, while the second unites in one 



Sz THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

community all the faithful of all the families of the earth. 
The first promises to all its subjects all worldly and tem- 
poral blessings; the second guarantees to all its subjects 
spiritual and eternal blessings. * * The flesh of Abra- 
ham is the center of attraction in the one, while the faith 
of Abraham is the center of attraction in the other." 

A purpose to build a tower implies a purpose to gather 
together the material, to employ workmen, to erect the 
scaffold, etc., without which it could not be erected. The 
purpose to bring Christ into the world through Abraham 
implies that Abraham and his posterity shall be specially 
preserved. Hence we have, as a subordinate covenant — 

Y. The Covenant Concerning His Inheritance.— 
Genesis xv. — This granted to Abraham and his posterity 
the land of Canaan forever. There was no spiritual bless- 
ing in this. We have also — 

VI. The Covenant of Circumcision.— Genesis xvii. 
9-14. — In this covenant God promised — 1. That he would 
bless Abraham himself. (Circumcision was a seal of the 
righteousness of the faith which he had before he was 
circumcised. — Romans iv. 11. In this respect circum- 
cision was to Abraham what it was not to any of his pos- 
terity.) 2. That he would bless all his posterity, whether 
by Sarah, Hagar, or Keturah. 3. That he would make 
of his posterity ''many nations;" that "kings shall come 
out of thee," etc. 4. That he would give to him, and to 
his seed after him, all the land of Canaan for an ever- 
lasting possession. 

The provisions of this covenant were— 1. That every 
male child of the seed of Abraham, and every servant 
bought with money by Abraham or his posterity, should 



THE BIBLE DISPENSATIONS. S3 

be circumcised. 2. That this should be an everlasting 
covenant ; that is, coexistent with the general covenant 
of which it was an element. 3. That death should be 
the penalty for neglect of it. 

'•My covenant shall be in your flesli" The covenant 
of circumcision was carnal, political, national. There is 
nothing to indicate that it promised anything beyond the 
temporal things named in it.* 

These covenants were all made during the patriarchal 
age of the world — a period of over twenty-five hundred 
years. During this period they seem only to have had 
family religion. The priesthood was after the order of 
Melchizedek. The laws by which they were governed 
were probably traditional. When families developed into 
nations there grew up a necessity for a civil government. 
The descendants of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
though strangers in a foreign land many years (Genesis 
xv. 13^, grew into a mighty people. When God delivered 
them from Egyptian bondage he organized them into a 
nation by giving them a law. Hence we have — 

VII. The Covenant at Horeb.— Deuteronomy v. 1, 
2, 3 — This covenant was made with the descendants of 
Jacob, 1491 B. C. It was given from Mount Sinai, and 
is generally called the law of Moses. This was the be- 



* While neither of these two covenants were spiritual, they 
neverthele s became types. Canaan is a type of the everlasting 
inheritance of the children of Abraham by faith in Jesus; and 
circumcision is made typical of the cutting of the body of sin 
from the soul, and the subsequent sealing of it by the Holy Spirit. 
— Romans ii. 28, 29; Philippians iii. 3; Colossians ii. 9-12; Ephe- 
sians i. 13, 14. 



84 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

ginning of the Jewish Dispensation. The law of circum- 
cision, having laid upon all the descendants of Abraham 
a perpetual obligation, was also incorporated into the law 
of Moses. — Leviticus xii. 3. 

The law of Moses was made chiefly for the purpose of 
civil government; but the government was made in such a 
way as best to serve the purpose of God in bringing about 
redemption through the promised seed. It was both po- 
litical and ecclesiastical— political, because like other na- 
tions they needed to be governed; ecclesiastical, because 
God would commit to them his "oracles;" through them 
prevent the general spread of idolatry ; illustrate, in his 
dealings with them and the surrounding nations, the 
principles of righteousness and truth; and "give a pic- 
torial outline of the scheme of redemption, by means of 
certain types and symbols, rites and ceremonies, addressed 
to the senses." The moral principles of the law were 
"holy, just and good." — Romans vii. 12. The positive 
and ceremonial law laid upon them burdens which were 
hard to be borne. — Acts xv. 10. The principles of God's 
dealings with men are eternal ; and therefore we find in 
the Jewish law what we will find in every law of God. 
They were taught to love God with all the soul, mind, 
and strength, and their neighbors as themselves. Never- 
theless, this covenant, as such, was temporal. It was 
only subordinate to the general arrangement. Paul says 
it was "added on account of transgression, till the seed 
should come to whom the promise was made." — Galatians 
iii. 19. It was added to the promise concerning Christ, 
'•Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. 
He saith not. And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, 



THE BIBLE D IS PENS A TIONS. 85 

And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that 
the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, 
the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, 
can not disannul, that it should make the promise of none 
effect." — Galatiaos iii. 16. 17. The law was added to the 
promise, till the seed should come. When the Christ set 
up his kingdom, the law of Moses had accomplished its 
purpose and passed away. 

The student will find much in this covenant, both 
moral and ceremonial, to engage his attention. The 
Decalogue, and statutes regulating their relations to God 
and to each other, the burnt -offerings sin-offerings, tres- 
pass-offerings, peace-offerings, meat-offerings, drink-offer- 
ings, the annual feasts, the commemorative institutions, 
the tabernacle furniture and service, the ceremonial 
cleansings, the years of release and jubilee — all these, 
and more, are full of interest and profit. We call atten- 
tion, however, to two special covenants. 1. Concerning 
(he priesthood of Aaron. " Thou shalt anoint the sons 
of Aaron, as thou didst anoint their father, that they 
may minister unto me in the priest's office : for their 
anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood through- 
out their generations." Exodus xl. 13-15; Numbers 
xxv. 12, 13. During the patriarchal age it seems that 
the father of every family officiated at the altar. — Genesis 
iv. 3, 5; xxxi. 54; Exodus xxiv. 4-8. But, after the 
erection of the tabernacle, none could approach unto the 
altar except the family of Aaron. — Exodus xxviii. 1-4. 

2. Concerning the throne of David. God, by covenant, 
gave the throne unto David and his seed forever: "I have 
made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto 



S6 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

David my servant, Thy seed will I establish forever, and 
build up thy throne to all generations." — Psalm lxxxix. 
3, 4; II. Samuel vii. 13. In this priesthood the student 
will find, in the one high priest and his offices, the type 
of Jesus as the " High Priest of our profession;" and in 
respect of the oath to David concerning the throne, he 
will find the promise fulfilled and the oath kept, in this, 
that "David's Son and David's Lord/' our Lord and 
Savior Jesus Christ, is now upon the throne forever. See 
Acts ii. 30; Hebrews i. 8; Zechariah vi. 12, 13. These 
facts are significant, as showing that God did not lose 
sight of his purpose. The Jewish law and nation were 
only instruments for opening up the way for the coming 
Redeemer. All through this dispensation there are types 
and symbols — shadows of the things to come— types of 
the sacrifice of Christ, types of the priesthood of Christ, 
types of the atonement of Christ, types of the world, the 
Church of Christ, and heaven. Besides these were proph- 
ecies concerning the character and work of the Messiah; 
concerning the beginning, growth, triumphs, and perpe- 
tuity of his kingdom. Details were given as to time and 
place of his birth, and circumstances of his crucifixion, 
burial, and resurrection, until there was a general expec- 
tation on the part of the Jews as to his coming and his 
blessings. Among the rest we have the prophecy con- 
cerning — 

VIII. The New Covenant. — Jeremiah xxxi. 31-34; 

1 Hebrews viii. 8-13. — Paul quotes this declaration of the 

prophet, applies it to the Christian covenant, and adds: 

"la that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the 

first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is 



THE BIBLE DISPENSATIONS. 87 

ready to vanish away."* The reader will note several 
things that are new about this covenant. 

1. The covenant of circumcision was in the "flesh;" 
the covenant at Horeb was written on " tables of stone;" 
but of the new covenant God says: "I will put my law 
in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts." 

2 All the infants, born in the family of Abraham, 
were covenant children; but they did not, for they could 
not, '-know the Lord." Therefore they had to be taught 
to know the Lord. Under the new covenant there would 
be no occasion for this teaching, inasmuch as the law 
would be written in their minds and hearts before they 
could become covenantees. 

3. Under the old covenant the willful transgressor was 
punished without mercy (Hebrews x. 28); but under the 
new covenant God says: "I will forgive their iniquities;" 
t: I will be merciful to their unrighteousness." 

4. Under the old covenant there was the remembrance 
of sin every year. — Hebrews x. 3; Leviticus xvi. 21, 22. 
The ' ; blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins." 
But under the new covenant God says, "I will remember 
your sins no more." 

Jeremiah wrote this prophecy about 600 B. C. In the 
days of Malachi, 397 B. C, the old covenant was still in 
force: "Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, 



* In proof that the old covenant is no longer in force, the 
reader is referred to Matthew v. 16, 17; Matthew xi. 11; Mat- 
thew xvii. 5; Matthew xxviii. 18-20; Acts xv. 6-29; Galatians 
iv. 30; Ephesians ii. 14, 15; Colossians ii. 14; II. Corinthians 
iii. 6-11 j liomans iii. 21, 28. Whatever was valuable in the 
old reappears in the new. 



83 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

which I commanded unto him in Horeb." This, the last 
prophetic admonition in the Old Testament, is in harmony 
with the spirit of all the prophets, whose mission seemed 
always to be to call the people back to the covenant of 
their fathers. Bat when John, the forerunner of Christ, 
and the greatest of all the prophets, came, he never so 
much as alluded to the Sinaic covenant. Jesus came 
next. His mission was to his '• own "— a the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel." He reproved his nation for sin 
and apostasy, but made no effort to call them back to the 
covenant God made at Horeb. He. did not so much as 
use the word covenant until he instituted the Supper, 
when he said of the symbolic wine, " This is my blood of 
the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remis- 
sion of sins." This significant silence suggests that the 
old covenant was not to be enforced, and that the time 
for the new had not yet come. 

Jesus had said, Matthew v. 18: " Till heaven and earth 
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the 
law, till all be fulfilled." He had himself kept the law, 
had attended all the national feasts, and when he insti- 
tuted the Supper, he had just celebrated the last Pass- 
over with his disciples. Soon he was himself to be the 
Paschal Lamb, offered for the salvation of the world; 
soon he was to sleep the last Jewish Sabbath in the grave ; 
soon he was to rise from the dead, show himself to his 
disciples, commission them to preach the gospel to every 
creature, and then ascend to receive his crown, his throne 
and scepter, and rule till his foes became his footstool. 
We go forward fifty days from this crucifixion, to the 
next Pentecost — the annual feast that commemorated the 



THE BIBLE DISPENSATIONS. 89 

giving of the Sinaic covenant — and come to the appro- 
priate occasion for the giving a new covenant. The old 
covenant had been given fifty days after the first Pass- 
over; the new covenant was given fifty days after the- last 
Passover — Acts ii. 

1. The house of Israel and house of Judah were pres- 
ent, with whom the covenant was to be made. 

2 The. Mediator was present. Paul says, " We have 
such a High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the 
throne of the Majesty in the heavens." "For if he were 
on earth, he should not be a priest " "But now hath he 
obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he 
is the Mediator of a better covenant, which was established 
upon better promises." " For if the first covenant had 
been faultless, there should no place have been sought for 
the second." Peter announced that Jesus, the Christ, 
had taken his seat "on the right hand of the Majesty in 
the heavens." His priesthood and the new covenant have 
a simultaneous beginning. 

3. Three thousand were "pricked in the heart;" the 
"law put in their inward parts, and written on their 
hearts." 

4. "They knew the Lord;" they gladly received the 
word and obeyed the gospel. 

5. God forgave their sins and remembered them no 
more. 

This was the beginning of the Christian Dispensation. 
Peter also said the "promise" (of salvation) "is to you 
and your children, and to all that are afar off, even as 
many as the Lord our God shall call." Again, "Ye are 
the children of the prophets, and of the covenant God 



90 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy 
seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed." — 
Acts iii. 25, 26. Turning to the tenth chapter of Acts 
the reader will find the call of the Gentiles. They were 
received upon equal footing with the Jews, and upon the 
same conditions of salvation; so that we have not only 
the "new covenant made with the house of Judah and 
Israel," but also the fulfillment of the promise, "In thee 
and thy seed" (which is Christ) "shall all the kindreds 
of the earth he blessed" Jews and Gentiles were re- 
ceived, because they "were born not of blood, nor of the 
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." 
We may mark prominently these differences between 
the Christian and Jewish Dispensations. 

1. "The Jewish institution, and the people under it, 
are alike carnal. 'Carnal ordinances,' says Paul, were 
imposed on them until the time of reformation." They 
had letter and symbol, but they had not the spirit and the 
reality. They had indeed the word addressed to the ear, 
and the picture to the eye ; but that which was spoken 
they neither understood nor obeyed, and that which was 
a type they could not read — "for they could not see to 
the end, or meaning, of that which is now abolished." 
Paul calls it letter, type, and shadow, while with him the 
new covenant is spirit, righteousness, and life. The letter 
killeth, while the spirit giveth life. It is also called the 
"ministration of condemnation," while the gospel is the 
"ministration of righteousness." The former indeed was 
gloriously introduced, but much more gloriously the latter. 

2. "As the body to the spirit, so stood the Jewish to 
the Christian institution in many prominent points of 



THE BIBLE DISPENSATIONS. 91 

view. As the spirit dwells in the body, so the gospel 
dwelt in the Levitical institution. When that died, the 
spirit, or that indicated by all its ordinances, alone sur- 
vived; so that while that religion sanctified to the puri- 
fying of the flesh only, the Christian sanctifies the spirit 
and through it the soul and body. 'We therefore serve 
in the newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of 
the letter.' ' Christ is the end of the law for justifica- 
tion to every one that believeth.' The ritual of Moses, 
'stood only in meats, and drinks, and divers ordinances 
concerning the flesh, imposed on the Jews until the time 
of reformation.' We then serve a better tabernacle than 
did the Jewish people. For their sacrifices we have the 
slain Lamb of God; for their deliverance from penal, 
temporal sufferings, through the blood of bulls and goats, 
we have 'justification from all things,' through faith in 
the blood of the Messiah; for their legal purification by 
the water of separation, we have the sanctification of the 
Spirit through faith in the blood of Christ, and baptism 
into his death ; for their oil of consecration we have the 
anointing of the Holy Spirit, by which we are led into 
all truth and holiness; for their national adoption we 
have a personal and filial adoption into the family of God, 
by which we feel that we are sons, and can say, 'Our 
Father, who art in heaven.'" 

3 '-The Christian institution is addressed to the un- 
derstanding, the heart, the conscience. It first presents 
itself to the understanding; it works its way into the 
heart; it seizes the affections, and induces men to covi", 
not to be carried or borne by physical necessity to Christ. 
'A willing people in the day of thy power shall come to 



92 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

thee.' Not so the antecedent institution. Men were, by 
necessity, born members of it. There was no appeal to 
the understanding, no addresses to the conscience, no 
motives addressed to the heart to win over a people to 
the Jewish institution. They were Jews, cot by choice, 
but by necessity; they were compelled to be members of 
that Church just as they were compelled to be born. They 
were indeed born of the flesh, and not of the Spirit, as 
preparatory to admission into that Church. 

4. "No one preached to the Jews that they must be 
born again before the time of Jesus. We have no regen- 
eration in the law of Moses. The Jewish elect are all 
chosen in Abraham's flesh; hence they sent out no mis- 
sionaries. There was no gospel in the law but for the 
Jews. On the contrary, Christianity is catholic in its 
spirit and proselyting in its character. It contemplates 
a great community, gathered out of every nation, kin- 
dred, tongue, and people. It makes provision for them 
all. * * Jesus sends his Apostles into all the world, 
and commands them to convert all nations; he establishes 
the doctrine of personal liberty, of freedom of choice, 
and of personal responsibility, by commanding every 
man to judge, reason, and act for himself." "Preach 
the gospel to every creature He that believeth, and is 
baptized, shall be saved." His was the spirit of a true 
philanthropy. " God is no respecter of persons ; but in 
every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteous- 
ness is accepted with him." " To him give all the proph- 
ets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth 
in him shall receive remission of sins." The Patriarchal 



THE BIBLE DISPENSA TIONS. 93 

age was starlight, the Jewish was moonlight, the Chris- 
tian is sunlight. "The Sun of Righteousness has risen 
with healing in his beams/' and " life and immortality have 
been brought to light by the gospel.'' 



94 THE STANDARD MANUAL, 



CHAPTER VI.— THE JEWISH TABERNACLE. 

The tabernacle, the center of all Judaism, was a mag- 
nificent movable structure, erected at a vast expense by 
Moses, according to the pattern which God showed him 
on the mount. It was so framed as to admit of being 
taken to pieces and put together again at pleasure. It 
was the model of the glorious temple that was erected 
nearly five hundred years afterward, by Solomon, in 
Jerusalem. The materials from which it was built were 
provided — 

1. From a tax of a half-shekel, levied from each male 
Israelite above twenty years old, rich and poor alike, as a 
ransom or atonement for their souls. 

2. But chiefly from the free-will offerings of the peo- 
ple. These offerings were very liberal. 

Type and Symbol. — Before we consider the contents 
of the tabernacle and its court, it is necessary that we 
have a clear understanding of the terms, type and symbol. 

1. A type is a figure, or representation, of something to come; 
and it is no longer a type when the thing typified come3 to be 
actually exhibited. 

2. But a symbol is a sign by which one knows or infers a 
thing — a sign included in the idea which it represents; as the 
lion is the symbol of courage, the lamb is the symbol of meek- 
ness or patience. 

We frequently blunder in talking upon the subject of 
the tabernacle, because of the confusion in our minds re- 



THE JEWISH TABERNACLE, 95 

garding types and symbols. These words are not strict 
synonyms, though they are often used as such. 

The " Church of God " was typified, and the " kingdom 
of God" was symbolized. Christ is often spoken of as a 
King, but never as "King of the Church." He is men- 
tioned frequently as a Priest, but never is it said he is 
"Priest over a kingdom." 

It is true that we have combined in Christ what we 
had in Melchizedek, "King and Priest." As king, he 
was a symbol of Christ as King; as a priest, he was a type 
of Christ as Priest. 

Now the tabernacle and its furniture were a type of the 
Church, but were not a symbol of anything. 

The image of Nebuchadnezzar was a "symbol," but 
not a type of anything. The beasts of Daniel were 
"symbols," not types. A type must have a thing ex- 
actly like itself for the thing it typifies. For instance: 
if I step into a printer's office, and take from his case a 
letter " C," ink it, and stamp it on a piece of clean white 
paper, it brings out a letter "C" — not a leaden block, as 
it was intended to typify only a letter "C." Again: 
the loaves of the presence, renewed every seventh day, 
typified the loaf of the presence, or the "Lord's Supper," 
to be eaten every seventh day. It was the seventh day 
that was typified, and the loaf was an accessory or aux- 
iliary, and yet the loaves are alike. Now a symbol is not 
at all like what it symbolizes. Take the four beasts of 
Daniel — they symbolized living men and women, aggre- 
gated into empires or kingdoms, with a kingly head. The 
ten horns symbolized ten men who were kings. The 
symbol may now be shown. Any beast having a horn 



96 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

always makes it his weapon of attack — offensive or de- 
fensive — hence there is the beast's power. But the horn 
bears no resemblance to a man, while a letter U C" on 
paper looks like a letter "C" cast in metal. A table with 
twelve loaves upon it does look like a table with one loaf 
on it; a seventh day looks like any other seventh day; a 
laver with pure water in it looks like or may be a picture 
of a large body of pure water. 

The Tabernacle and Court.— These were situated 
in the midst of the twelve tribes ; but no tent, save those 
of the Levites, might be pitched nearer to the court than 
three thousand feet. Space forbids giving the reason for 
this, and the manner of presenting offerings as we would 
like. In brief, it was to teach the Jews the idea of holi- 
ness. Previous to this time the word " holy " was unborn. 

The court and tabernacle stood east and west. The 
court was one hundred and fifty by seventy-five feet. The 
fence was made of fine twined linen, seven and a half 
feet high, fastened to a silver, rod by means of silver 
hooks At the eastern end was a beautiful gateway of 
linen, woven with blue purple and crimson colors. Right 
up to this gateway, just inside, stood the altar of sacri- 
fice. All outside of the court was called the worldly 
sanctuary. Here all the mistakes of life were committed, 
and here all resolves to reform were made. The differ- 
ence between a sinning Jew without faith, and one with 
faith, was the altar and sacrifice. The sinning Jew knew 
there was but one place he could go for pardon, and that 
was to the north side of that altar ; and but one offering 
he could bring, if able to provide it, and that was a female 
lamb or kid ; and but one way he could offer it, and that 



THE JEWISH TABERNACLE. 97 

was by placing his hands upon its forehead and confess- 
ing to the priest his sins, after which, with his own hand, 
he cut its throat, while the priest caught its blood and 
cast it in a sheet over the altar, so that every side was 
touched by it. The priest then flayed, disemboweled, 
and cut it in pieces; and, if a perfect offering, laid such 
portions on the altar as the law required. From the time 
of the slaying of the offering, the sinner is "represented " 
by the priest in the remainder of the worship. 

All this is a type of our leaving the world and coming 
to Christ, who is our Altar, Sacrifice, and "All in AIL" 
We come to him without a mental reservation, and offer 
him our body, soul, and spirit. We confess our lost and 
undone condition without his help and mediation. By 
faith we lay hold of him and accept of him as our Sacri- 
fice. And, on leaving the world, he is the first thing we 
find. 

But we are not "represented" on earth by a priest, as 
those were who were under the law; for in the Church 
of God all members are priests. 

The Laver. — The size of the laver is not given, but 
all authority confirms the impression made on the mind 
of the Bible reader, that it must have been quite large, 
as # every offering had to be purified by washing; and the 
priests, when consecrated to the office of the priesthood, 
were washed u in the water," at the door of the taber- 
nacle, in the presence of "all the people." See Dr. 
Tafel's interlineary translation of the Hebrew, published 
at Philadelphia; also, "en hudati" of the Septuagint. — 
Exodus xl. 12; Leviticus viii. 6. 

But why does the high priest stop at the laver ; after 
9 



98 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

offering the sacrifice? We have said he "represented" 
the sinning Jew after the slaying of the sin-offering. 
The priest, catching the blood and casting it over the 
altar, in flaying and disemboweling the sacrifice, and of- 
fering it, became covered with blood, fat, and filth, neces- 
sarily. To appear in the house of God, thus covered, 
would be to receive the death penalty. This blood and 
filth must be removed. Water is the only antithesis of 
them. 

The world quotes several types of baptism — the flood 
furnishing two. 

1. Translatory from old world to new, or ante to post 
diluvian world. — Colossians i. 13. 

2. Salvatory antitype. — I. Peter iii. 18-21. 

3. Passage of the Red Sea salvatory — burial and res- 
urrection. Antitype, I. Corinthians x., and Romans vi. 

4. Laver. This is the only cleansing type — the cleans- 
ing or pardon of sin. See Acts xxii. 16. See Wesley's 
notes on this passage; also Lange's. See Dr. Seiss, in 
"Gospel in Leviticus, or Holy Types/' pages 143 to 145. 
Hebrews viii. 11-19, and to 28. 

The priest had no use for the laver,unless filthy. The 
priest's washing was for the "filth of the flesh;" then, 
putting on clean white robes, he is ready to enter the 
"holy place" — type of the Church. 

So the altar is a type of sin and pollution; the laver a 
type of purification. The sinner, all polluted with sin, 
comes to Christ (having offered himself as we have seen 
at the altar) through baptism; becoming consecrated not 
only as a priest by this washing, which was not to wash 
awav "filth," but to answer a "good conscience;" and 



THE JEWISH TABERNACLE. 99 

thus the sinner becomes purified, and arises with new 
clean garments of righteousness. 

Again — the blood of the kid is offered at the altar as 
a type of sin and pollution. The laver of water alone is 
offered as a type of purification; and water baptism is 
the antitype, or it has none. 




The Tabernacle and Golden Lamp-Stand. — We 
now approach the building, or tabernacle proper. It 
was forty-five feet long, and fifteen feet wide and high, 
and divided into two rooms. The first, called the "holy 
place," was thirty feet long by fifteen feet wide and high; 
the second, a perfect cube of fifteen feet, called "holy of 
holies." The light of day was excluded from the build- 
ing. The light of the "holy place" came from the seven- 
branched golden lamp-stand, which, with its snuffers and 



ioo THE STANDARD MANUAL 

dishes, was valued at twenty-seven thousand dollars. The 
oil used was the pure beaten olive oil. No one might 
manufacture *>il after the manner of that used in this 
chandelier. If the priest neglected the lamp, the beauty 
of the " holy place " could not be seen. The lamp-stand, 
lamps, oil, and the burning of the oil, stand for the 
" word." 

The Psalmist says: " Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, 
and a lantern to my path." 

The Savior said: "All things which are written in the 
law, prophets, and psalms, must be fulfilled concerning 
me." The law pointed clearly to him in Deuteronomy 
xviii. 18, etc. The prophets — Isaiah ii. 2; liii. ; Micah 
iv., ct al. Psalms in numerous places. 

The center stem represents Christ. Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, and John write about him, and give us one com- 
plete life of our Savior. 

Matthew wrote for his own people — the Jews; Mark, 
it is believed, wrote for the Romans and Italians; Luke, 
for the Grecians; John wrote for the Asiatics. They 
worshiped "light" — John calls Jesus '-the Light.' 

The "Acts of Apostles." 

In the law, prophets, and psalms, we are constantly 
reading about some great personage to come. In Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John, we seem to stand in his august 
presence; but when we read the "Acts of Apostles" we 
are reading about a Mighty Being, who has visited the 
earth and left it. We are here told how we may enjoy 
him here, and go to him when we die. 

The fifth lamp represents the twenty-one Epistles. In 
the "Acts of Apostles" we are told how to become sol- 



THE JEWISH TABERNACLE. 101 

diers of the cross; and in the twenty-one Epistles we are 
informed how to regulate our conduct as we fight in the 
grand army of the Lord. 

This division of the lamp-stand also looks or points 
hack to Christ. The seventh lamp is represented by the 
Book of Revelation. 

Thus we see that Christ is "the First and the Last," 
"the Beginning and the End," the "Alpha and the 
Omega." 

As the "holy place" was a type of the Church, and 
the lamp-stand its light, and only light, so the "word of 
God" is the only light of the Church. To manufacture 
any other light for God's children may be attended with 
greater punishment than that which was to visit the of- 
fender who would dare to make oil like that which was 
burned "before the Lord." 

All in the Bible previous to Christ's birth pointed for- 
ward to his coming. All in it after his death points back 
to his glorious deeds in life and tragic death, all on ac- 
count of "our transgressions" and "our iniquities." 



The Table of Shew Bread.— This piece of sacred 
furniture stood on the right hand of the holy place, as 



102 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

you entered the apartment, and opposite the golden lamp- 
stand. It was three feet (thirty-six inches) long, two 
feet three inches (twenty-seven inches; high, and eighteen 
inches wide. It is called sometimes, and perhaps more 
properly, the " table of the presence." It was made of 
shittim and acacia. wood, called by the Jews " never- 
dying wood." 

Its Use. — When the children of Israel escaped from 
Egyptian bondage, they passed through a channel made 
for them in the Red Sea. Paul says, in I. Corinthians 
x 2: "They were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud 
and in the sea." In about forty-two days after their de- 
parture from Egypt, they were about to starve and die 
because of giving out of food brought by them from 
Egypt. To avert so direful a calamity, as soon as they 
found their lives were no longer in their own hands, but 
dependent upon some Superior Power, they appealed to 
their leader and deliverer for help. Moses petitioned 
God on their behalf, and God sent manna from heaven in 
the morning, out of which they made their bread, and 
which saved and perpetuated their lives. 

Afterward Moses commanded the priests. — Exodus 
xvi. 32, etc. This is the thing which the Lord com- 
manded: "Fill an omer" (5, l pints) "of manna, to be 
kept for your generations, that they may see the bread 
wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I 
brought you forth from the land of Egypt," etc. Aaron 
did so for a memorial. Memorial of what? The saving 
of the children of Israel. See Leviticus xxvi. 5-9. 
Jesus said, John vi. 49: " Your fathers did eat manna in 
the wilderness, and are dead. I am the living bread 



THE JEWISH TABERNACLE. 103 

which, came down out of heaven : if any man eat of this 
bread he shall live forever. 

The law commanded that the priests should see that 
twelve cakes were baked weekly, to be placed on the table 
every Sabbath; the old ones to be eaten by those in the 
holy place. Each loaf represented one of the twelve 
tribes, and was made of twelve quarts of finely ground 
flour. Why were they to eat it? As a memorial. But 
a memorial of what? Of the bread (manna) which 
saved their lives in the wilderness. 

From time immemorial a table has been regarded as an 
emblem of fellowship, or friendship. Luke xxii. 21: 
" Behold the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me 
on the table " 30 : "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, 
as my Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye may 
eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on 
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Now, as 
followers of Christ, the true children of God partake of 
the antitype of the shew-bread on the Lord's Day, for 
what? " Do this in remembrance of me," says Jesus. 
Why? Because I am the true manna that came down 
from heaven to save your spiritual lives when perishing. 
As Israel commemorated the fall of manna in the wilder- 
ness, that saved them from a physical death, so Jesus de- 
sired a memorial to be observed by the true Israel, as he 
is the true and heavenly manna that saves all, who believe 
in and obey him, from an eternal dying. 

The Golden Altar. — This article of sacred furniture 
was several feet farther from the entrance of the holy 
place than the lamp-stand and table of shew-bread. 

It was four-sided and square, and stood immediately 



104 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

in front of the beautiful vail. Every morning and even- 
ing, simultaneous with the offering of burnt-offering, upon 
the outside altar, a priest, with fire from that altar, took 
a handful of stacte, onycha galbanum and pure frankin- 
cense in equal parts, and putting the fire in the golden 
vessel on the altar, dropped upon it the incense, which 
quickly filled the building with a dark cloud, and a 
'•sweet perfume unto the Lord. 7 ' The common pries£ 
might offer incense, and while offering it he was nearer 
the symbol of God's presence than at any other time. 




The golden altar and incense are a type of prayer, and 
the saint is never so near God as when, as a worshiper, he 
bows at his feet and calls upon him out of a pure heart 
to accept gratitude for unnumbered mercies and implore 
pardon for wrongs committed against so pure and holy a 
Being. By the priest this service was never neghetal. 
How sad the reflection that under the substance (gospel) 
of which the golden altar was a " shadow," "figure," the 
Christian priest should be found neglecting this sweet 



THE JEWISH TABERNACLE. 105 

privilege of lioly communion daily with his Maker and 
lledeemer. 

John the revelator assures us our prayers are sealed 
in golden vials, to be poured out before the throne of 
God. How strangely the antitype of this altar has been 
used! It has been carried out of the holy place — the 
Church — and placed, not only out in the world, but beyond 
the altar of sacrifice, and the sinner invited to the altar 
of prayer before he sees the altar of burnt-offerings. 
Under the law a Kohathite might not see the golden 
altar under penalty of death, much less offer incense. 
(See Sunday-school lesson, February 24, 1878— King 
Uzziah, etc ) In Hebrews viii. ix. and x., Paul gives a 
recapitulation of the tabernacle service, and he calls it a 
"figure" only of better things in the gospel, The altar 
was the last article approached under the law. No one 
will dispute it. But what does the antitype say of it? 
When I went to school, the teacher told the class in 
arithmetic that when proving a sum in addition we found 
the same result in adding the columns downward we did 
in adding upward, we might be satisfied our work w T as 
correct. Let us try this rule here. By common consent 
the Church, set up in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, 
is regarded as the model Church. 

First— Peter preached in the worldly sanctuary; the 
people heard, believed, accepted Christ, and offered them- 
selves at the altar of sacrifice; they asked what they 
should do; they already believed — next step, rrpent 
(Acts ii.), then be baptized for the remission of sins, and 
then they should receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
Three thousand obeyed the command; and it is said 



106 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

'■they continued steadfastly in the Apostle s doctrine and 
fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. So 
we find the New Testament order precisely like the pic- 
ture, or figure, or type, in the old order of things. 

C. H. M.j in his "notes" on Exodus, says: '* The priest- 
hood being instituted, as in preceding chapters, we are 
here introduced to the position of true priestly worship 
and communion. The order is marked and instructive, 
and moreover precisely corresponds with the believer s ex- 
perience. At the brazen altar he sees the ashes of his 
sins; he then sees himself linked with one who, though 
personally pure and spotless, so that he could be anointed 
without blood, has nevertheless associated himself in life, 
righteousness and favor; and, finally, in the golden altar, 
the preciousness of Christ as the material on which the 
divine affections feed. Thus it is ever— there must be a 
brazen altar and a priest before there can be a golden altar 
and incense." 

In the very nature of things, prayer belongs to the 
citizen, the priest — by right; to the alien a privilege. See 
Cornelius, Acts x. ; also, John x. 31. 

Beautiful Vail.— This was a type of the body of 
Christ. It was passed but once a year, by the high priest 
only, and then not without blood. 

The Holy of Holies. — This apartment was a perfect 
cube of fifteen feet. The ark of God was its only article 
of furniture. It was of box-like shape, three feet nine 
inches long, two feet three inches wide and high, covered 
inside and outside with gold. In it, at jirst, were the 
tables of stone. It was covered with a solid lid of gold, 
with two cherubim, all of one piece of beaten work. 



THE JEWISH TABERNACLE. 



107 



Between the wings of the cherubim rested the Shechinah, 
the symbolic presence of God. u Shechinah" is not a 
Bible word, but one that ought to be. We have passed 
from nature, through grace, and now we are in the " holy 
place/' or glory. He who inhabiteth eternity dwelleth 
here. The day fixed by law for entering this apartment 




was the tenth day of the seventh month, or at-onement or 
reconciliation day, when God became one with his people. 
On the morning of this day no Jew knew whether he 
would live to see the going down of the sun. Every one 
was to " afflict his soul" Only the high priest might law- 
fully enter this apartment, and even he must not appear 
in the royal robes of the priestly office. For six days 
previous to reconciliation day he must eat sparingly of 
food. On this day he must partake of no food until the 
services closed, though for him it was the hardest day's 



108 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

labor of the year. [Space forbids the detailed statement 
of sacrifices.] His first act, after the sacrifices of the 
morning, was to place within the vail a golden vessel of 
smoking incense. He then takes the blood of a bullock 
and sprinkles some of it upon the golden lid or mercy- 
seat, and seven times upon the ground before it, atoning 
for his own sins first ; that he may properly minister for 
the people. 

That sprinkled on the mercy-seat may have had refer- 
ence to the restoration of the priesthood to the favor of 
Gocl. The blood represented the life of the animal, and 
typified that the true penitent, in whose behalf this life 
was brought, might not come merely where there was fel 
lowship with God by believing and obeying his commands, 
but where there should be no partition between thern. 
In the ark was deposited " God's word," and had not the 
golden lid hid it from the gaze of all, no Jew could have 
lived, for they were ever violating its commands. Blood 
upon that lid atoned for their sins of ignorance. That 
covenant remained there for fifteen hundred years, and 
over that covenant or law, on the mercy-seat, God met 
the Jewish race in the person of the high priest, and he 
met them alone. He afterward removed the law from the 
ark, and put his word in the body of Christ. Christ died 
and bequeathed that word to God's ambassadors, the 
twelve Apostles. When Christ died the vail was rent, 
and the order of worship rearranged. 

The holy of holies and the ark were removed to heaven, 
where God now, through Christ our High Priest, meets 
his people — our high priest having ordered that the 
ambassadors of God should carry his new covenant or 



THE JEWISH TABERNACLE. 109 

gospel into all the world. The lamp-stand, or gospel, or 
word of God, being in the holy place, the Church is to 
let it shine through it into all the tribes of men. The 
admission of the high priest behind the vail with the 
life of the bullock, indicates that the curtain, however 
beautifully adorned, should not exclude the true believer 
from a closer intimacy with his Creator. This high priest 
had first to atone for his own sins — our High Priest only 
for our sins. 

The holy of holies having been purified from the sins 
of the priests, similar ceremonies were performed in be- 
half of the people, with the blood of a goat carefully se- 
lected for the purpose. Then the holy place was purified 
by sprinkling blood upon the golden altar and its horns, 
after which followed the cleansing of the altar of sacri- 
fice. Now the second goat is brought to the door of the 
tabernacle, when the high priest places his hands upon 
its head, and confesses the sins of the people to God, after 
which it is led away into the uninhabited land, or land of 
for get fulness, with the sins of the people upon it. 

The two goats were intended to represent one sin-offer- 
ing. One could not typify all designed to be represented. 
Jesus had power to " lay down his life and power to take 
it up again." In order to bring out the true meaning of 
the sacrifice, it was necessary that the act of the living- 
should be performed after death; and as this could not 
be done with a single offering, two were employed. Re- 
turning to the holy of holies, the high priest removes the 
golden incense vessel, washes and reinvests himself with 
his golden vestments. The people rejoice when they hear 
the music of the bells, for this signifies the safety of their 



no THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

leader. He sends the flesh of bullock and goat outside 
the c imp to be burned— the fat of them only being con- 
sumed on the altar of sacrifices The regular sacrifices 
of the day now being offered, he is privileged to return 
to the bosom of his family, from whom, for a week, he 
has been separated. 

This day typifies our High Priest laying aside the 
royalty of heaven — ^tabernacling in the flesh— dying for 
our sins, and rising for our justification. His blood was 
typified by the goat's blood, and his "blotting out our 
sins" was typified by the act of the goat that carried 
away sins into the uninhabited land. The only way to 
get into the holy of holies is through the holy place. 
The only way to get into the Church is to sacrifice at the 
altar, and wash at the laver, thereby becoming a priest. 
The blood of Christ can not affect the sins of the sinner 
until he does that which entitles his High Priest ^Christ) 
to tender blood to God at the mercy-seat. 

When the sinner believes, repents, confesses Christ, 
and is baptized — washed — which is the last condition of 
pardon, he is entitled to the tender of "blood." 

Prior to these steps Christ is only a Mediator ; after 
these four steps are taken, he changes his relations and 
becomes a Priest the moment the sinner becomes a priest. 
The translation from "sinner to saint," "power of dark- 
ness" to " child of light," "sinner to priest," is when the 
fourth step, from a pure heart, is accomplished, and never 
before. Priests belong in the Church — our High Priest 
is now in the holy of holies, with his own blood medi- 
ating and officiating. 

As the people anciently anxiously awaited the return 



THE JE WISH TABERNA CLE, 1 1 1 

of their earthly high priest from the holy of holies, and 
the music of the golden bells announced his existence and 
heralded his approach, causing the millions whose sins 
had been "passed by" another year to shout their rejoic- 
ings — so when our loved High Priest returns a second 
time in the clouds of heaven, "without a stn-offering unto 
salvation," his approach will be heralded by the shouts of 
archangels and the trumpet of God. He will then claim 
his ransomed, and take them home, but take vengeance 
on them that know not God and obey not the gospel. 
Will you rejoice when you hear him coming? 



THE STANDARD MANUAL. 



CHAPTER VII.— BIBLE GEOGRAPHY. 

Geography and chronology — the place where, and the 
time when — are called u the great eyes of history." 

It is almost indispensable that the student of Bible his- 
tory should have at least an outline knowledge of the 
lands and countries mentioned in the Bible. 

Only a mere outline can be presented in the space 
which has been allotted to this lesson. 

With Jerusalem as the center of our map, let us en- 
deavor to trace the names and boundaries of these Bible 
lands. 

Classification. — Bible lands may be classified as 
follows : 

1. The district north and east of the Euphrates. This 
contains Armenia, Media, Parthia, Persia, Chaldea, Meso- 
potamia, and Assyria. 

2. The district between the Euphrates and the Medi- 
terranean. Here we find Arabia, Philistia, Canaan, Phoe- 
nicia, and Syria. 

3. The district south of the Mediterranean. This 
comprises Arabia, Egypt, and Libya^ with its farthest 
boundary about one thousand miles from Jerusalem. 

4. The district north of the Mediterranean. In this 
district we find Spain, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor. 
Spain, the extreme country named in this division, is 



BIBLE GEOGRAPHY. 113 

about nineteen hundred miles to the northwest from 
Jerusalem. 

When we consider the history of Bible lands in con- 
nection with their geography, we find that the lands 
which may be properly called "the lands of the begin- 
ning," are Armenia Chaldea, and Mesopotamia; Egypt is 
the land where the Hebrews were held in bondage; in 
Arabia Petraea they w T andered for forty years; Canaan 
is the land of promise; the lauds of Philistia, Syria, and 
Arabia, were the scene of the Jewish wars; into Assyria 
and Babylonia the children of Israel were carried captive 
by Shalmaneser and Nebuchadnezzar; Media and Persia 
are associated with Cyrus, the lover of Daniel and the 
emancipator of the Jews; while the lands into which the 
tribes were finally dispersed were Parthia, Media, Elam, 
Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, 
Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Borne, Crete, and Arabia. 

The countries of the Bible embraced territory nineteen 
hundred miles to the northwest from Jerusalem ; twelve 
hundred miles to the southeast; one thousand miles to 
the southwest; and one thousand miles to the northeast. 

"The land which was the residence of the chosen peo- 
ple, where our blessed Savior dwelt, and where the prin- 
cipal events recorded in the Bible took place, is known 
by various names. On account of its sacred associations 
it is called the Holy Land (Zechariah ii. 12) ; the pleas- 
ant land (Daniel viii. 9) ; the glorious land (Daniel xi. 6) ; 
the Lord's land (Hosea ix. 3) ; the land which the Lord 
swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Genesis 1. 24) ; 
and the land of promise (Hebrews xi. 9). 

"From its inhabitants at different periods, it is called 
10 



114 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

the land of Canaan (Genesis xi. 31) ; the land of the 
Hebrews (Genesis xl. 15); the land of Israel (1 Samuel 
xiii. 19) ; and Palestine, which is now familiarly applied 
to the whole country, though when used in the Old Test- 
ament (Exodus xv. 14; Isaiah xiv. 29; Joel iii. 4) it had 
its original and narrower sense of Philistia (Psalm lx. 8 , 
or the territory of the Philistines along the southwestern 
coast. 

"This land was admirably adapted, by its location, for 
the purpose for which God, in his providence, designed it. 
It was shut in by great natural barriers — the Mediterra- 
nean on the west, the mountain range of Lebanon on the 
north, and the desert on the south and east; and the 
people were thus secluded from the heathen states around 
them. Its proximity to the seats of early civilization, 
and to the great empires of the old world, both gave 
them the advantage of the highest existing forms of 
worldly culture, and provided instruments for their chas- 
tisement when they transgressed. And its central posi- 
tion in relation to the three great continents of the east- 
ern hemisphere, lying, as it did, upon or adjacent to the 
main routes of trade and travel from west to east, emi- 
nently fitted it to be the center of diffusion of the true 
religion, when the time had come for the gospel to be 
preached to every creature." 

Mountains. — The principal mountains of the Bible, 
with their elevation in feet above the level of the Medi- 
terranean Sea, are Mt. Ararat, seventeen thousand, three 
hundred and twenty-three; Lebanon, ten thousand and 
fifty-one ; Hermon, nine thousand three hundred and 
seventy-six; Sinai, eight thousand five hundred and 



BIBLE GEOGRAPHY. 115 

ninety-three; Olivet, two thousand six hundred and sixty- 
five; Zion, two thousand five hundred and fifty; Moriah, 
two thousand, four hundred and forty; Carmel, eighteen 
hundred; Gilead, five thousand. With the exception of 
Ararat, in Armenia, the mountains named in the Bible 
are either in or around Palestine. On Mt. Ararat the 
ark of Noah rested while the waters of the flood were 
disappearing. Lebanon is the name applied to a range 
of mountains in the north of Palestine. "The name Leb- 
anon signifies 'white,' and was applied either on account 
of the snow, which, during a great part of the year, cov- 
ers its whole summit, or on account of the white color of 
its limestone cliffs and peaks." Its highest peak may be 
called "the white mountain," or the Mont Bhnc of 
Palestine. 

Hermon is on the northeastern border of Palest : ne. 
" It towers high above the ancient border-city of Dan, and 
the fountains of the Jordan, and is the most conspicuous 
and beautiful mountain in Palestine or Syria. The name 
Ilermon was doubtless suggested by its appearance — ' a 
lofty, prominent peak ' — visible from afar. When the 
whole country is parched with the summer sun, white 
lines of snow streak the head of Hermon. This mountain 
was the great landmark of the Israelites. It was asso- 
ciated with their northern border almost as intimately 
as the sea was with the western." 

Mt. Sinai is nearly in the center of the peninsula which 
lies like a wedge between the horns of the Eed Sea. It 
is forever associated with the giving of the law through 
Moses to the children of Israel. 

" The temple of Jehovah stood on Moriah, the palace 



n6 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

of David on Zion, and Christ was received up into heaven 
from the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives." 

Gerizim and Ebal are " twin mountains in the heart of 
Palestine." The former is called the " mount of blessing," 
and the latter the "mount of cursing;" for "when Israel 
had entered the promised land, six tribes were stationed 
on the side of Grerizim, facing northward, to respond to 
the blessings written in the law, and six tribes on the side 
of Ebal, facing southward, to respond to the curses of 
the law, as they were read by Joshua in the valley 
between." 

Mount Hor is memorable as being the place where 
Aaron died, fourteen hundred and fifty-one years before 
Christ; while Mount Nebo is equally memorable as the 
place where Moses, the brother of Aaron, died, one-half 
year later. "Whether Pisgah was the same as Nebo, or 
rather a range of mountains, with Nebo for one of its 
summits, is not yet determined." 

Mount Carmel is associated with Elijah and his con- 
flicts with the prophets of Baal It is northwest from 
Jerusalem, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. 

Seas and Rivers. - There are four seas mentioned in 
the Bible — the Mediterranean, the Bed Sea, the Sea of 
Galilee, and the Dead Sea. 

The Mediterrantan Sea was called the "Great Sea," in 
contrast with the other bodies of water known to the 
Israelites. 

The Bed Sea lies between Egypt and the peninsula of 
Sinai. The northern part of it is quite narrow, and 
across this God provided a way for the children of Israel 
to pass on dry ground when they fled from Egypt. 



BIBLE GEOGRAPHY. 117 

The Dead Sea is southeast from Jerusalem about 
twenty-five miles. The sea is about forty-six miles long, 
and at its greatest width about ten miles. The river 
Jordan pours its waters into this sea, as well as other 
smaller streams. While all the waters which empty into 
the Dead oea are sweet and fresh, "the sea itself is acrid 
and salt." It has no apparent outlet, and the surface of 
its water is thirteen hundred and sixteen feet below the 
Mediterranean. 

Its appearance during a storm is described by Lieu- 
tenant Lynch as follows: "A fresh north wind was blow- 
ing as we rounded the point. We endeavored to steer a 
little north of west, to make a true west course, and 
threw the patent log overboard to measure the distance ; 
but the wind rose so rapidly that the boats could not 
keep head to wind, and we were obliged to haul the log 
in. The sea continued to rise with the increasing wind, 
which gradually freshened to a gale, and presented an 
agitated surface of foaming brine. The spray, evaporat- 
ing as it fell, left incrustations of salt upon our clothes, 
our hands, and faces; and, while it conveyed a prickly 
sensation wherever it touched the skin, was, above all, 
exceedingly painful to the eyes. The boats, heavily laden, 
struggled sluggishly at first; but when the wind freshened 
in its fierceness, from the density of the water it seemed 
as if their bows were encountering the sledge-hammers 
of the Titans, instead of the opposing waves of an angry 
sea." 

The Sea of Galilee, sometimes called " the Sea of 
Tiberias," and "the Lake of Gennesaret," is about 
"twelve miles long, and five broad, and is incased among 



Ii8 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

beautiful and verdant hills, having on the west the table- 
land of Galilee, and on the east the still deeper and loft- 
ier region of Bashan. The waters of the lake are clear 
and sweet, and at its northern extremity abound in fish." 

The river Jordan is the principal river of the Holy 
Land. Its length, from its source to the south end of 
the Dead Sea, is about one hundred and sixty-two miles 
in a straight line; but, following the tortuous course of 
the river, the distance is increased from one hundred 
and sixty-two miles to nearly three hundred miles. The 
level of the Jordan, at its northern source, is seventeen 
hundred feet above the Mediterranean, but at the Dead 
Sea it is thirteen hundred feet below. No vessels have 
ever navigated its waters, and not a city has ever flour- 
ished on its banks. Jericho lies to the west of it, a dis- 
tance of ten miles, the only place of note until we reach 
the Sea of Galilee. There we find the two towns of 
Tiberias and Capernaum. But the wonderful events 
which transpired along its banks invest it with an interest 
second to that of no river in the world. 

By reading the following passages of Scripture the 
student will learn the principal seas and rivers of Bible 
lands: Numbers xxxiv. 6; Ezra iii. 7; Deuteronomy ii. 
24; Exodus xxxiii. 31; Acts xxvii. 27; Exodus x. 19; 
Genesis xiv. 5; John xxi. 1; Numbers xxxiv. 11; Mark 
vi. 53; Genesis ii. 10-13 ; Psalm cxxxvii 1 ; Genesis xl. 1 ; 
Isaiah xxiii. 3; Jeremiah ii. 18; II. Kings v. 12; Judges 
v. 21; Deuteronomy ii. 36; Deuteronomy ii. 37; Joshua 
iii. 8. 

Valleys and Deserts. — The principal valleys and 
deserts of Bible lands are named in the following passages: 



BIBLE GEOGRAPHY. 119 

Joshua ii. 16, 17; II. Chronicles xxxv. 22; Ilosea i. 5; 
Joshua x. 12; Joshua vii. 26; Deuteronomy xxxiv. 3; 
Numbers xxxii. 9 ; Jeremiah vii. 32 ; Joel iii. 2 ; Exodus 
xiii. 18-20; Exodus xv. 22; Numbers xxxiii. 8; Exodus 
xvi, 1; Exodus xix. 1, 2; Numbers x. 12. Let each one 
be located on the map. 

Cities. — The following Scripture passages make men- 
tion of the most important of the cities, towns and vil- 
lages of Palestine. The first city mentioned in the Bible 
was built by Cain: Genesis iv. 17, 20; Judges i. 31; 
I. Kings xvii. 9; Luke iv. 26; I. Kings v. 1, 6; Acts 
xxi. 7; Luke iii. 1; Matthew xvi. 13; Acts xxiii. 31; 
Joshua xix. 46 ; II. Chronicles ii. 16; Ezra iii. 7 ; Jonah 
i. 3; Acts ix. 36; Actsx.; Nehemiah xi. 35; Acts ix. 
32; I. Samuel vi. 17; Joshua xv. 31; Genesis xxi. 31; 
Joshua iv. 15; Genesis xiii. 18; Genesis xxxv. 19; 
I. Samuel xvii. 12; Matthew ii. 1. Jerusalem, originally 
called Salem: Genesis xiv. 18; II. Samuel v. 6-9; John 
xi. 18; I. Samuel ii. 17; Luke xxiv. 13; Judges xix. 20; 
Joshua ix. 17; Genesis xxviii. 11; Joshua xviii. 1; 
I. Samuel iv. 4; Joshua xxi. 21; John iv. 5; I. Kings 
xvi. 24; I. Kings xxi. 1; II. Kings xxiii. 29; I. Samuel 
xxviii. 4; Luke vii. 11; I. Samuel xxviii. 7; Luke iv. 
16; II. Kings xiv. 25; John ii. 1; Joshua xxi. 32; 
Judges iv. 6; Genesis xiv. 14; Matthew xi. 21, 23; 
Matthew xv. 39; Mark viii. 10; John vi. 23; Luke viii. 
26; I. Samuel xxxi. 10; John i. 28; Judges vii. 21; 
Deuteronomy xxxiv. 3; Joshua iv. 19; I. Samuel xxiv. 1 ; 
Numbers xxxiv. 4; Joshua xxi. 38; Genesis xxxii. 2; 
Judges xxi. 14. 

Some of these cities are mentioned several times^ and 



120 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

in connection with some of the most interesting events 
of Bible history. It would be interesting to notice the 
present condition of Bible lands in contrast to what they 
once were; but the limits of our lesson will not permit 
it. We conclude by repeating the words of Whittier : 

"I tread where the twelve in their wayfaring trod; 
I stand where they stood with the chosen of God, 
"Where his blessing was heard and his lessons were taught, 
"Where the blind were restored and the healing was wrought. 

" Oh ! here with his flock the sad wanderer came — 
These hills he toiled over in grief are the same; 
The founts where he drank by the wayside still flow, 
And the same airs are blowing which breathed on his brow! 

"And, throned on her hills, sits Jerusalem yet; 
But with dust on her forehead, and chains on her feet— 
For the crown of her pride to the mocker hath gone, 
And the holy Shechinah is dark where it shone." 



BIBLE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 121 



CHAPTER VIIL— BIBLE MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS. 

Oriental life lias, as it were, been stereotyped. A 
knowledge of its manners and customs will, therefore, 
help us very much in the understanding of many passages 
of Scripture, and also be of great service to the inter- 
preter. In our own country, and in many European 
countries, changes of such magnitude, and so radical, 
have taken place that hardly the faintest resemblance 
can be traced between ourselves and our forefathers; 
while "in Palestine and Arabia, and in the greater part 
of Western Asia, things remain much as they were, un- 
influenced by the march of civilization and by the im- 
provements in the arts and sciences that have taken place 
elsewhere." This singular fact has been noticed by many 
travelers. 

The reasons of this unchangeableness are to be sought 
mainly in the physical peculiarities of the countries in 
which the Bible scenes are laid. 

There are two great classes of inhabitants in eastern 
countries — those who dwell in tents and those who dwell 
in towns. 

" This division has its origin in differences of occupa- 
tion and means of subsistence. The agriculturist and 
others, whose business left them stationary, erected houses 

as the most durable and the most convenient abodes; the 
11 



122 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

shepherd, on the other hand, who was obliged to shift his 
quarters frequently, in order to find pasture for his flocks 
and herds, was compelled to use the tent as the only 
movable habitation. 

"We find traces of this distinction in the earliest pages 
of the Bible. We read of Cain, the agriculturist, that 
' he builded a city, and called the city, after the name of 
his son, Enoch' (Genesis iv. 17); while Jabal, the herds- 
man, was 'the father of such as dwell in tents, and of 
such as have cattle' (Genesis iv. 20)." 

The Tent and The House. — Two different kinds of 
life, and two different states of society, are represented 
by the tent and the house. 

Abraham led a pastoral life. He wandered into Canaan 
from the north of Mesopotamia, accompanied by his sheep 
and cattle; and wherever he met with suitable pasture 
there he "pitched his tent" for awhile, until the supply 
was exhausted, when "he removed and pitched his tent" 
elsawhere (Genesis xii. 8 and xiii. 3, 18). "Isaac pitched 
his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there" (Genesis 
xxvi. 17). "Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents." 

When the Israelites settled in the promised land the 
house became the ordinary abode, and the tent was re- 
served merely for the purposes of war. 

The material of which the tent was made is not de- 
scribed in the Bible, but travelers say that " the covering 
of a tent consists of pieces of stuff made of black goat's 
hair, about three quarters of a yard in breadth, its length 
being equal to that of the tent. According to the depth 
of the tent, ten or more of these pieces are stitched to- 
gether." In addition to the hair stuff which formed 



BIBLE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 123 

the "curtains of the habitation," the dwellers in tents 
required "stakes," or pegs, to drive into the ground, and 
"cords" to attach the awning to the stake. 

Isaiah refers to this in his prophetic address to the 
Church (Isaiah liv. 2): "Enlarge the place of thy tent, 
and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habita- 
tions: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy 
stakes ; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and 
on the left." The stability of a tent depended on the 
pegs, or pins, driven into the earth; hence they became 
an apt emblem of strength and security. Reference is 
made to this in Isaiah xxii. 23: "I will fasten him as a 
nail" — rather ; as a tent-peg — " in a sure place." 

The removal of the tent is rapidly effected ; all traces 
of its site rapidly disappear, and " the place thereof 
knoweth it no more." The fleeting and insecure nature 
of man's life is aptly illustrated by it, as Isaiah xxxviii. 
12 : " Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a 
shepherd's tent." 

Some very interesting references are made to tents in 
the Scriptures : Genesis xviii. 1-10 ; Judges iv. 18-21 ; 
Genesis iv. 20; Exodus xxvi. 14; Acts vii. 4, 5; Hebrews 
xi. 8-10; Numbers xxiv. 5, 6; Acts xviii. 3. 

Reference to better houses is made in Chronicles xxix. 
2; Amos v. 11; Genesis xi. 3; Isaiah ix. 10. 

The roofs of oriental houses were almost invariably 
flat. The small amount of rain which falls in that part 
of the world renders such a construction possible, and 
the heat of the climate renders it convenient. See 
I. Samuel ix. 25; II. Samuel xi. 2; II. Samuel xvi. 22; 
Nehemiah viii. 1G. 



124 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Any public proclamation could be conveniently made 
from the house-top, and hence Jesus says : "What ye hear 
in the ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops."— Mat- 
thew x. 27. 

The roof was an excellent place from which to make 
observation of what was transpiring. Isaiah xxii. 1 : 
"What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to 
the house-tops?" 

The roof was also used for various domestic purposes, 
such as spreading flax, drying figs and corn, as Joshua 
ii. 6: "She" (Rahab) "had brought them" (the spies) 
"up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the 
stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof." 

The roof was surrounded with a railing, or battlement, 
to prevent people falling over ; and this was considered 
so necessary that Grod commanded, Deuteronomy xxii. 8 : 
"When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make 
a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon 
thine house, if any man fall from thence." 

Beds and Lights. — The bed was generally nothing 
more than a mattress. A bedstead, in our use of the 
term, was very unusual. Such a thing is only once 
noticed in the Bible — Deuteronomy iii. 1 L : '-Behold, his 
bedstead was a bedstead of iron ; is it not in Rabbath of 
the children of Amnon ? nine cubits (sixteen feet) was 
the length thereof, and four cubits (seven feet) the 
breadth of it." 

The ordinary bed was of a movable character. It was 
raised slightly from the floor, and was used as well for 
sitting as for lying down. See I. Samuel xix. 15; Luke 






BIBLE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 125 

v. 18-25 ; II. Kings i. 4 ; Psalm cxxxii. 3 ; Genesis xlix. 
33 ; Genesis xlviii. 2 ; I. Samuel xxviii. 23. 

The lamp was the only mode of producing an artificial 
light for domestic uses among the Hebrews. The "candle" 
of the Bible had nothing in common with the modern 
article of that name, but must be regarded as simply an- 
other name for a lamp. The ordinary lamp was of small 
size; and hence it was the part of the prudent not only 
to take the lamps, but also oil with which to supply them. 
— Matthew xxv. 4. 

Many of the notices of the lamp, or candle, in the 
Bible have reference to a custom, which has always pre- 
vailed in the East, of keeping a light burning in the 
house throughout the whole of the night. The extinction 
of the light was an unlooked-for and unfortunate occur- 
rence, and hence gave rise to expressions significant of 
sudden and violent destruction. See Job xxi. 17 ; Prov- 
erbs xx. 20 ; Revelation xviii. 23. 

On the other hand, the kindling or maintenance of the 
light was an apt increase of protection, continuance, and 
cheerfulness. I. Kings xi. 36 : "And unto his son will 
I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light 
alway before me in Jerusalem." See also I. Kings xv. 4; 
Job xxix. 2, 3; Proverbs xiii 9; Revelation xxii. 5. 

Sepulchers. — These were the burial-places of the 
dead. They were often called "houses;" and they dif- 
fered from the houses of the living far less than do our 
burial-places "Samuel died; and all the Israelites were 
gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in 
his house at Ramah." — I. Samuel xxv. 1. See also 



126 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

I Kings ii. 34; Job iii. 13, 15; Job xxx. 23; Isaiah 
xiv. 15, 18. 

The sepulchers of the Jews were of two sorts— natural 
and artificial. Of the first sort examples are found in 
Genesis xxiii. 8, 9, 19 and Joshua x. 27; of the second 
sort — II. Chronicles xvi. 14; Matthew xxvii. 59, 60; 
John xi. 38. Such burial-places were frequently on a 
level with the surrounding ground, and therefore a person 
might be said to "go into" or "come forth from" a sepul- 
cher. See John v. xxviii. 28, 29; John xi. 43, 44; 
John xx. 6. 

Sometimes the sepulchers were highly elevated, and 
this was the case with those of the rich. Hence Isaiah 
asks : "What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here, 
that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulcher here, as he that 
heweth him out a sepulcher on high, and that graveth a 
habitation for himself in a rock."— Isaiah xxii. 16. 

By the Jews all graves were regarded as unclean, and 
communicated legal uncleanness to any one who came in 
contact with them. It was usual, therefore, to make 
them conspicuous by painting them white. Hence our 
Savior's remarks: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites ! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which 
indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of 
dead men's bones, and all uncleanness." — Matthew xxiii. 
27. Also, Luke xi. 44; Luke vii. 12; John xi 30. 

Food and Clothing. — The food of the Jews was 
mostly of a very simple nature. It consisted of bread 
in various forms, and preparations of corn, honey, milk, 
fish and vegetables. Meat was comparatively seldom 
eaten by any except the wealthy. Bread was of two kinds 



BIBLE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 127 

— leavened and unleavened. When Lot entertained the 
angels, "he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened 
bread, and they did eat." — Genesis xix. 3. For other 
examples see Judges vi. 19; I. Samuel xxviii. 24 and 
Exodus xii. 34, 39. 

The nature and influence of leaven, led to its being re- 
garded as symbolic of certain ideas. Our Lord selects it 
as an illustration of the secret, subtle, and penetrating 
influence of doctrine, whether for good or for evil, as 
Matthew xiii. 33 and Matthew xvi. 6. It is used by 
Paul (I. Corinthians v. 7, 8) as a symbol of sin. 

The materials of which bread was made were various, 
as II. Kings iv. 42; John vi. 9; I. Kings iv. 22 and 
Ezekiel xvi. 13. 

The duty of grinding the corn devolved upon the 
females of the family, and upon the female slaves, where 
slaves were kept. Hence the deep degradation implied 
in the statement: "They took the young men to grind." 
— Lamentations v. 13. 

The general practice is expressed, Matthew xxiv. 41 : 
" Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall 
be taken, and the other left." The menial nature of the 
service is vividly expressed in the following passages: 
"All the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from 
the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, 
even unto the firstborn of the maid-servant that is be- 
hind the mill." — Exodus xi. 5. "Come down, and sit in 
the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground : 
there is no throne, daughter of the Chaldeans: for 
thou fchalt no more be called tender and delicate. Talce 
the millstones, and grind meaV — Isaiah xlvii. 1, 2. 



128 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Bread was seldom eaten by itself. Something was re- 
quired to give a relish to it. See Ruth ii. 14; John xiii. 
26 and John xxi. 9. 

Milk is a substantial article of diet in the East; and 
from the great importance of it, it became a token of 
richness in a country. Palestine is described as '-a land 
that floweth with milk and honey" (Joshua v. 6); and in 
Joel iii. 18 it is predicted: "In that day * * * the 
hills shall flow with milk." 

The leathern bottles, for holding milk and water, are 
frequently mentioned : Genesis xxi. 14 and Judges iv. 19. 

The bottles are generally made of goat-skin, but oc- 
casionally of camel or ox-skin, which is duly prepared by 
tanning. The goat-skin is used whole, being drawn off 
the body of the animal after cutting off its head and 
feet; the openings thus made being afterward sewed up. 
"In the case of other animals, the sides are sewed to- 
gether and the joinings well smeared with grease. Such 
bottles become dried by the smoke of an Arab tent; or, 
when they have been in long use, are liable to crack and 
become worthless. Hence the Psalmist, to express his 
exhausted condition under suffering compares himself to 
a 'bottle in the smoke.' — Psalm cxix. 83 " If any fer- 
mentation were produced by the liquor contained in them 
they would burst. Hence Mark ii. 22: "No man putteth 
new wine into old bottles; else the new wine doth burst 
the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will 
be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles." 
The condition of an old bottle is described in Joshua ix. 4 
as il old } and rent, and bound up." 

The general character of oriental dress has been the 



BIBLE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, 129 

same in all ages — loose, flowing robes, of varying thick- 
ness, so as to suit the variations of an eastern climate, 
easily put on and off, and without the same amount of 
distinction between the sexes as prevails among ourselves. 

The desire for clothing for the body was one of the 
first indications that sin had " entered into the world." 
Genesis iii. 7: "And the eyes of them both were opened, 
and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed 
fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." 

For articles and customs of dress the following Scrip- 
ture passages may be read: Genesis iii. 21; Genesis xli. 
42; Luke xvi. 19; Exodus ix. 31; Judges viii 26; 
Genesis xxxvii. 3, 4; Psalm xlv. 13, 14; Deuteronomy 
xxiv. 13; Ruth iii. 15; Exodus xii. 34; Luke vi. 29; 
John xix. 23; Luke xv. 22; Proverbs xxxi. 13, 22; Isaiah 
v. 27; I. Peter i. 13; Isaiah iii. 18-23; I. Corinthians 
xi. 15; I. Peter iii. 3; I. Timothy, ii. 9; Psalm lxxv. 5 ; 
II. Kings ix. 30; Job i. 20; II. Samuel xiv. 25, 26; 
Esther iii. 10; Daniel vi. 17; Isaiah iii. 18; Matthew 
xxvi. 65; Acts xiv. 14; Genesis xlv. 22; Psalm xlv. 8. 

The ordinary robes of the Jew were- two, which are 
distinguished in our Bible as the "coat" and "cloak." 
The " coat" was really an under-garment, resembling in 
shape our shirt. It fitted close to the body, reached to 
the knee, and was furnished with sleeves. A person 
clothed in the "coat" or tunic alone, was said to be 
"stripped," or "naked." See I. Samuel xix. 24; Isaiah 
xx. 2 and John xxi. 7. 

The "coat" was confined at the waist by a girdle, made 
sometimes of leather, as in the cases of Elijah and John 
the Baptist, of whom it is said that he had "a leathern 



i 3 o THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

girdle about Ills loins" (II. Kings i. 8 and Matthew 
ill. 4;; and sometimes of linen, as Jeremiah xiii. 1. 

Over the coat was worn the "cloak," which consisted 
simply of a quadrangular piece of thick stuff. It might 
be worn in various ways, either over the two shoulders 
like a shawl, or over one shoulder and across the breast, 
like a Scotch plaid. The four corners were adorned with 
a fringe or tassel, attached to it by a blue riband, ac- 
cording to the command of God in Numbers xv. 38, 39. 

The "cloak" was not only used as a garment, but was 
useful for carrying any articles. See Exodus xii. 34; 
Judges viii. 25; II. Kings iv. 39; Haggai ii. 12; Luke 
vi. 38. It was also used as a covering at night ; and it 
was ordered in the law (Exodus xxii. 26, 27). And, in 
reference to this, our Savior says : " If any man will sue 
thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have 
thy cloak also."— Matthew v. 40." 

It would be interesting to notice the " social usages " 
of the East — education, marriage ceremonies, social inter- 
course, hospitality, amusements, funeral rites, agriculture 
methods of traveling, etc., etc. ; but we are unable to do. 
so in the space afforded us. We must, therefore, be 
content to close our lesson here. 



THE SUN DA Y SCHO OL. m 



-JPJ^XIT XX. 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 



I. — Its Place and Purpose. 

The Sunday -school is now one of the most important 
agencies for the exertion of the activities of the Church 
of Christ. 

The principle upon which it is based is divine, not 
human. In one form or another it has existed since, and 
during, and even before, the Apostolic age. 

" The good philanthropists of the last century, in dig- 
ging that they might build a human fabric, laid bare an 
ancient and divine foundation. Let us rear our super- 
structure upon this, rather than upon their narrow basis, 
and after their scantier measurements. " 

It would hardly be expected that the form which it 
took in the early days of the Church would be reproduced 
now. No attempt, therefore, is made to show the exact 
resemblance of the modern Sunday-school to the Church- 
school of the Apostolic age. All that we desire to affirm 
is that in principle and design they are the same. 

The Sunday-school may be defined to be that depart- 
ment of the Church of Christ in which the word of God 
is taught for the purpose of bringing souls to Christ, that 
they may come into Christ, to be built up in Christ, that 



132 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

finally they may be with Christ. It is the primary grade 
of the school of Christ. It is for the teaching, rather 
than the preaching, of the gospel. "It involves the 
processes of teaching, of questioning, of personal appli- 
cation, of hancl-to-hand effort in the development of 
thought and of self-activity. It is in fulfillment of the 
divine command, c Go, preach.' It is in imitation of the 
divine example of Him who spake as never man spake — 
the Great Teacher; who used illustrations, and asked 
questions, and made direct, personal application; who 
taught individuals and small groups, and elicited from 
his pupils remarks, opinions, thoughts, questions, etc., of 
their own. It is the Church becoming now what all the 
followers of Christ were at the beginning — disciples." 

In its relation to other agencies for the acquisition of 
Bible knowledge, and growth in grace, it is proper to say 
here that the Sunday-school is not a make-shift, substituted 
for home instruction, any more than the common school 
of civilized countries is a substitute for the teaching the 
savage gives his child in his hut. It is not a substitute 
for preaching —it can not be. It is not a substitute for 
the other religious meetings of the Church. No Christian 
is to be excused from prayer-meeting, or preaching service, 
or social meeting of the Church, simply because he has 
attended the session of the Sunday-school. It is not a 
school for little children only, but for adults and chil- 
dren, both from the Church and from the world. 

It is a meeting and a school, the grand purpose of 
which is to teach the word of God; to train the mind 
and heart to faith and obedience to Christ; and to culture 
and discipline the whole nation for the struggles and joys 



THE SUNDA V SCHOOL. 133 

of a life of faith in Christ. It ought to have the hearty 
sympathy of the home, the willing aid of the whole 
Church, and to supplement in these modern days the 
teaching of the secular schools. 

II — Organization and Management. 

Before there can be efficient management there must 
be the primary act of organization. To organize is to 
arrange or constitute in parts, each having a special 
function, act, office, or relation. 

There can be no social power without organization. If 
individuals wish to act together for a common end, they 
must organize. Without organization individual power 
is wasted, collisions are likely to occur, and no good re- 
sult can be accomplished. With it individual actions are 
united and made capable of great results. 

The power of combined or organized effort is stated in 
such sentences as these in the Bible : " Five of you shall 
chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten 
thousand to flight," and, "How should one chase a thou- 
sand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except * * * 
the Lord had shut them up." 

For every object they desire to accomplish by united 
action, people are organized. Hence we find that, to en- 
able them to attain to the highest degree of personal 
spiritual power, and to promote the interests of the 
Church of Christ, the divine wisdom has ordained that 
the disciples be organized into congregations. 

In every organization there are three things essential: 

1. A number of persons who desire to join themselves 
together to achieve a specified result. 



134 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

2. A system of rules by which each person is to be 
guided. 

3. Government, or officers to enforce the rules. 

The character of the organization will, of course, be 
varied, according to the size and circumstances of the 
school. Let it be understood, however, that perfect or- 
ganization is not an obstacle to free and natural movement 
in its management. 

There should be a certain amount of flexibility in the 
organization, and special provisions made for all occasional 
exercises which it may be desirable to introduce. 

The officers of a Sunday-school are in general : 

1. A Superintendent, and as many assistants as the 
needs of the school require. 

2. A Secretary, with assistants, if necessary. 

3. A Treasurer. 

4. Teachers. 

5. A Librarian. 

Other persons can be selected to take charge of mat- 
ters of special interest or importance, as the occasion re- 
quires. These should be selected by the superintendent, 
aided by the counsel of his teachers. 

No perfect organization can be had without giving at- 
tention to the general principles of which we have spoken. 

Management. — The superintendent is the center of 
control and authority in the Sunday-school. He is the 
executive officer, responsible to the school and to the 
Church for the administration of the rules which have 
been adopted. 

The Sunday-school ought to be emphatically a church- 
school, in which the entire membership of the church 



THE SUN DA Y SCHO OL. 135 

has an interest — not in theory only, but also in fact. 
Hence the superintendent should be chosen by the church. 
When he has been selected he should have the privilege 
of the selection of the secretary, librarian, chorister, and 
teachers In doing this work he should call to his as- 
sistance the best judgment of the church. As responsi- 
bility ought to rest somewhere, we would have the 
secretary, librarian, choristers, and teachers responsible 
to the superintendent; and the superintendent responsible 
to the church. 

The duties of the superintendent may be briefly statec^. 
He is to work for the interest of the church that has 
called him to his position; he is to govern, to watch over, 
direct, and lead the persons committed to his care; he is 
to govern the school with reference to its one great ob- 
ject — Bible study for spiritual edification. And, as the 
majority of the persons committed to his care are young, 
he is to govern in the interest of the best and purest 
'Christian homes which are there represented, and which 
it is the design of the Sunday-school to establish where 
they do not exist. 

Qualifications. — To guide in the selection of this 
most important officer, some of the main qualifications 
which he ought to possess are enumerated. 

To a great degree the superintendent is the school. 
Scholars and teachers, of course, are needed in making a 
school; but scholars and teachers are of little avail with- 
out a superintending head. A number of people, old or 
young, brought together without any organic center of 
action, do not constitute a school. Chemistry gives us a 
good illustration of this idea. Two or three different 



136 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

kinds of materials, put into a vessel, make simply a con- 
fused mixture; but add another ingredient, of exactly 
the right kind, and the confused mass becomes at once 
organic. If the superintendent is the right sort of a man, 
the school will nourish despite all adverse influences. If 
the superintendent is incapable, or faithless, the school 
will languish, in spite of the best of teachers and the 
most favorable circumstances. 

We have expressed the case strongly, that the matter 
may come with emphasis to those concerned. His prom- 
inent qualifications should be : 

1. He should possess unmistakable Christian integrity 
and piety. 

2. He must be a man of common sense — " sanctified 
common sense." 

3. He must have enthusiasm in his work ; he must 
delight in it. While necessity is laid upon him, still he 
should render the service to which he is called, from the 
heart. 

4. He must have " governing tact," or executive ability. 
He must have a quick eye and a steady hand ; seeing de- 
fects, he must be able to correct them; having a correct 
understanding of what is to be done, he must be able 
promptly and persistently to do it — in other words, he 
must be a strong, wise, considerate, and sympathetic gov- 
ernor. 

5. He must be a devoted and diligent student of the 
Bible, "apt to teach," and able to quicken and increase 
the teaching power of his teachers. He should not be 
fussy, fretful, noisy, or too great .a talker. With such a 
superintendent, as we have described, success is assured. 



THE SUN DA Y SCHO OL. 1 3 7 

Let no church be discouraged by this high ideal. There 
are more of this class of men in every community than 
we imagine, but they have not been called out; growth- 
ful men, who only are waiting to enter the " effectual 
door." 

III.— -The Sunday School Teacher. 

The Office. — Teachers of the Word were a part of 
the early Church (I. Corinthians xii. 28). In the mod- 
ern church-school the main work is carried on by the 
teacher. 

Xo one will do his best in anything unless he profcundly 
believes in his work. He who has a true impression 
of the unutterable greatness of divine things, has the 
first and grandest qualificatioi of a teacher. Without 
this it will be useless to make the attempt to inspire him 
with any very deep love for the work. 

1. The Sunday-school teacher is the interpreter of the 
Bible to his class. He is to open to their minds the 
character and contents of that Sacred Volume whose au- 
thority they must be taught to reverence, and whose 
treasures of truth they should learn to consult. If the 
teacher's work is well done, the Bible will become to 
them, in its main features, a familiar book. 

He is not to use imaginative power and final meanings 
which the writer never meant, and which might startle 
his class by their originality. 

The Well of Truth is deep, and he may never get to the 
bottom of the facts actually in the text. But he must 
not, under any circumstances, put anything into the 
well — only draw out what is already there. 
12 



138 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

2. For the time beino; he is to be the counselor and 
adviser of his class in spiritual things. 

It will often happen that members of his class will tell 
their difficulties of conscience, their trials of mind, and 
their religious feelings, more freely to their Sunday-school 
teacher than to their own parents; and, if he has a con- 
scientious regard for the office he holds, he can be their 
wisest and calmest counselor. 

3. Again — the true teacher is the religious educator of 
his class. He is to make the effort to steadily increase 
their scriptural knowledge, and to develop their spiritual 
intelligence, so that their powers of perception, compar- 
ison, and reasoning, in spiritual things, will ripen into a 
healthy and vigorous spiritual life. 

4. Besides this, the teacher, to a certain extent, is a 
preacher to his class — not in the sense of formal discourse, 
but by lessons and familiar talks, suited to the age and 
mental condition of the young hearers. 

People need not only to be taught what to do, but to 
be roused to action as well. Hence, while he prepares 
the instruction for the mind, directs as to what the mem- 
ory should grasp, and makes the conscience quicken to 
its duty, he should rouse the heart to an active response. 

The Power. — It has been wisely said, that nothing 
can be mean or unimportant which helps to shape a soul 
for its eternal destinies. This the Sunday-school teacher 
does. In all the length of existence there are no houses 
so fall of consequence as those which lie at the beginning 
— "in the one alone childhood, which each soul is per- 
mitted to enjoy.' 7 



THE SUNDA Y SCHOOL. 139 

It is impossible to overestimate the importance and 
power of early impressions. 

" Scratch the green rind, and the scarred oa^ 
Will tell of this for centuries to come." 

The material upon which the teacher works is not wax, 
or marble, or granite, but the heart of a child. Touch 
that heart and your finger-prints will be found upon him 
ages hence. This is no vision — it is the simple truth. 

The teacher has to labor with great and eternal 
thoughts — the thoughts of God in their relation to man. 
The deepest impressions received in life are those imparted 
to the sensitive and tenacious mind of childhood. If 
these impressions are of a proper character, there will 
ever be a reaching after truth and right, with the humble 
trust and earnest docility of childhood ; and there will 
remain forever on the countenance of age the sweetest 
charm of youth. 

The soul and the truth were made for each other, as 
the sunshine and the seed for soil. In bringing these 
together, in the proper order and manner, lies the secret 
of the teacher's influence over the child. 

The truth which he teaches is the revelation of God to 
man. It is a divine message, and carries in itself the 
authority of its eternal Author; it is the grand instru- 
ment of the world's deliverance and salvation. The 
teacher should rest upon the Word as the warrior relies 
upon his well-tried weapon. "If religious thought and 
truth have been, as history shows, the mightiest forces in 
shaping the character and conditions of society, then the 
diffusion of religious ideas among the young is one of the 



140 THE STANDARD MANUAL, 

most momentous of the agencies which men can employ 
to elevate and purify society, and save liberty and good 
government to nations. And, as God's kingdom, that 
last outcome of history, is to be the triumph of the re- 
ligious and eternal over the merely secular and material, 
every added religious thought and thinker increases the 
growing majorities whose elective choice shall make God's 
will be done on earth as it is in heaven." 

We would not raise the standard of the teacher so high 
that none will attempt to reach it; and yet, with the fact 
before us that 

11 There are treasures of infinite price to be won, 
There are treasures of infinite price to be lost," 

AYe can not easily place the standard too high; and to 
steer by the unvarying stars is far better than to walk by 
the glow-worm's light, even if you can touch the one and 
should never reach the other. 

The world has its plaudits and its honors for conquer- 
ors and kings, expositors of laws, successful artists, pop- 
ular poets, and even skillful potters; but has no honors 
or praise for him who has given his life to restore the 
golden days of which poets sing, and has sought to fashion 
immortal minds, after the image of the one perfect Man. 

But the Sunday-school teacher needs no praise or honor 
from them, for his image is enshrined in the hearts of 
those whom he taught the way to paradise, and their 
lives shall be his everlasting memorial. If these consid- 
erations will not persuade him to his work, then one risen 
from the dead could not persuade him. 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 141 

IV. — How to Study the Lesson. 

It is impossible to study a Bible lesson too thoroughly. 
And, as the time that can be devoted to study by the 
average teacher is necessarily brief, whatever can be fur- 
nished him, which will not impair his own efforts, is clear 
gain to him. 

Teaching has a threefold purpose., 

1. It is to inform as to facts, so thit a thorough un- 
derstanding of the meaning of the lesson may be reached. 

2. To convince as to truths, or that the practical bear- 
ing of the lesson may be ascertained. 

3. To persuade as to duties. 

This threefold purpose is to reach the mind, the mem- 
ory, the conscience, the heart. We study the lesson to 
gain this end. 

Preparation. — In preparing to study a lesson it is 
necessary that the teacher should himself have — 

1. A truth-loving spirit. Truth will not unveil her 
beauties to the insincere or undevout. In the parable of 
the sower (Matthew xiii.), the only soil that profitably 
receives the seed of the kingdon is the "good and honest 
heart" "Because they received not the love of the 
truth" (II. Thessalonians ii. 10) — they perished. 

2. Earnestness. "My son, if thou wilt receive my 
words, and hide my commandments with thee ; so that 
thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart 
to understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and 
searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou 
understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge 
of God." — Proverbs ii. 1-5. 



142 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

3. Perseverance and Thoroughness. The butterfly, 
gayly tipping the flowers and rapidly flitting from flower 
to flower, may get enough for its brief and slender life ; 
but the more homely bee, that works into the depths of 
the flower's sweetness, and exhausts its treasures, comes 
home richly laden with stores for future needs. When 
the Apostle James speaks of "looking into the perfect 
law of liberty," it is not a casual or indifferent glance of 
which he speaks. His language implies a stoop ng down 
to look in — an eager, steadfast, penetrating gaze, a contin- 
uance in study. u Blessed is the man," says Wisdom, 
" that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at 
the posts of my doors.' 7 —Proverbs viii. 34. 

The Study. — When the mind and heart are prepared 
for study, the great, indispensable prerequisite for study- 
ing the Bible is - a Bible, the very best edition you are 
able to own. Other helps, such as a Concordance, Bible 
dictionary, maps, etc., are desirable, but are not so abso- 
lutely necessary. 

If the study is a book of the Bible, the following course 
is recommended : 

1. External Particulars. The book ; its name, date, 
author, style, and important features. 

2. Internal Particulars. 

1. When? Chronology, and the connection of its 

parts. 

2. Where? Places — their peculiarities, relations, 

and associations. 

3. Who? Persons, characters, classes, names, 

titles, position ; and histories. 



THE SUN DA V SCHOOL. 143 

4. What ? Words, terms, figures, things, actions, 

incidents, errors, truths. 

5. Why? Causes, motives, designs.) 

6. Whence ? Things implied, inferred, suggested, 

or produced. 
If instead of a book a single verse, paragraph, or lesson 
is the subject for study, the following method can be pur- 
sued : 

1. Read the text carefully and thoughtfully. Then 
read the connection or context. 

2. Inquire by whom it was written and to whom it was 
addressed; the time, place, and circumstances of the writ- 
ing. Why was it written ? This inquiry will often throw 
much light on the subject. 

3. Ascertain all that you can concerning the persons, 
places, and even its mention in the lesson. A good 
Bible dictionary will be of great value here. Ancient 
customs and usages were very different from those of our 
time. This fact known will explain many otherwise diffi- 
cult passages. 

4. Study parallel passages, wherein the same truths are 
taught, or else some leading words are used. 

Avoid any fanciful interpretations or far-fetched mean- 
ings. When you have exhausted your own efforts, then 
you may look into commentaries and gain whatever ad- 
vantage you can from them. 

The study and unyielding purpose of the teacher must 
be to get the exact meaning of the text— the truth, no 
more, no less. 

Plan of Teaching. — When the lesson has been stud- 
ied until its facts and truths are clearly in the mind, 



144 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

there is another matter which ought to be matured before 
the teacher goes before his class. This is to decide upon 
a plan by which it may be presented to the class. 

1. Every lesson has a leading thought. Decide what 
that is, and either express it in the exact words of Scrip- 
ture, or in your own carefully chosen language. Express 
in Scripture language if possible. 

2. Select the truths to enforce it. These may be found 
in the lesson, or context, or parallel passages. 

3. Mark the points which need explanation, proof, or 
illustration, and prepare such explanations, proofs, and 
illustrations, that the preparation may be complete. Seek 
fitting illustrations from nature, from your own expe- 
rience, from reading, anywhere. 

4. Arrange all your material so as to interest, instruct, 
and impress. 

5. And, finally, go with a prayerful spirit to your class, 
and in that spirit teach. 

V. —How to Teach the Lesson. 

Principles. — There are some foundation principles 
upon which all true and successful teaching is based. 
Methods must always vary with circumstances, and be 
adapted to the diverse needs of teacher and taught ; but 
the principles which underlie all methods are ever the 
same. 

I. The first grand principle, without which no teacher 
can be successful, is Faith — faith in himself that he has 
ability to impart instruction; faith in God; faith in the 
word of God ; and faith in the children, or the class 

II. The second grand foundation principle is Love — ■ 



THE SUNDA Y SCHO OL. 145 

love for himself. Such a love for himself as that he 
would scorn to do anything wrong for any reason ; love 
for God ; love for the word of God ; and love for the 
children. 

Besides these, there are others of scarcely less practi- 
cal importance. 

1. A knowledge of the art of teaching, or the best 
method of communicating instruction. There are some 
teachers who are called natural teachers, and who suc- 
ceed without hardly knowing why. Their intuitions 
have enabled them them to learn the art without study. 
They do not succeed because they neglect rules, but be- 
cause their quick perception has taught them the very 
sum and substance of those rules. 

2. A thorough understanding of the mental and moral 
characteristics of children : and, especially, of those whom 
he has to instruct. He must have a general knowledge 
of human nature, but a special knowledge of his own 
pupils. Xo two scholars are exactly alike in temper, 
moral perception, or intelligence ; hence the necessity of 
giving heed to this principle. 

3. Clearness of expression. This will usually follow a 
clear conception of the truth to be taught, and the mean- 
ing of words. The rule of the Roman orator was — To 
speak so plainly that all could understand him, and none 
could misunderstand him. In the choice of words, let 
such words be employed as clearly convey the thought. 
Call a spade, a spade, and not "an oblong implement of 
manual industry." Call net-work, net- work, and not some- 
thing "reticulated and decussated, with equal interstitial 

vacuities between the intersections." Call home, home, 
13 



146 THE STANDARD MANUAL, 

rather than a place of residence. "Never use a hard 
word where an easier one will answer the purpose." We 
should study the language in which our people think and 
talk. 

4. Accuracy in the use of language. Language is not 
a perfect medium of thought. It is frequently difficult 
to make adults understand us; the difficulty is much more 
apparent in our intercourse with children. " The lan- 
guage of the Bible is often highly figurative, and our 
ideas of God, of infinitude and eternity, are only imper- 
fectly conceived through types, metaphors, analogies, 
and adaptatives of thought and language to our limited 
capacities." 

Methods. — After principles come methods, which are 
the practical application of those principles. Having 
prepared himself for study, the teacher is now ready to 
transmit the ideas and thoughts which he has received to 
the minds of others. How shall he do it ? 

1. Secure the attention of each pupil in the class. 
Without attention it is impossible to teach. When at- 
tention ceases, instruction ends, How to win attention 
will be discussed at length in another place: but here we 
simply wish to say that there can be no teaching unless 
the pupil's mind actively co-operates with the mind of 
the teacher. It never can do this unless it gives attention. 

2. Review briefly the preceding lesson. This will serve 
to awaken the interest of the class in the immediate les- 
son. A brief and animated review of the lesson already 
taught will do more toward fixing it in the memory than 
the half-hour's teaching. Detached, isolated knowledge, 
like single, separate links in a chain, is of little use, and 



THE SUN DA V SCHO OL. 147 

is usually soon forgotten; but when it is joined to what 
is already known, and to what is afterward acquired, it 
becomes a connected chain of ever-increasing strength 
and utility. Besides, recalling what has gone before, 
often throws essential light upon what is now to be 
studied. Frequent and regular reviews are necessary to 
the best success in teaching. 

3. Examine the regular lesson according to the method 
you have already decided to be the best for your class. 
This will give each pupil a chance to participate, and in- 
dividualize the teaching, and also develop what the pupils 
have done and what they already know about the lesson. 
No attempt to communicate the ideas of the teacher should 
be made till this is thoroughly done. The mistakes of 
the pupil may be corrected when they appear, but every 
pupil should be permitted to show what he knows before 
knowledge is thrust upon him. In this way his self-re- 
spect is preserved and his ambition stimulated, toward 
independent study and thought. 

4. Supplement the knowledge of the pupils by the more 
extended knowledge of the teacher. Sometimes this can 
be done best by questions — direct, suggestive, general, or 
personal questions. Sometimes by a brief and vivid nar- 
rative. Sometimes by illustrations carefully chosen, ob- 
vious, and true. Sometimes by direct speech, in which 
the teacher's reverence for the Bible, appreciation of its 
truth, sympathy with Christ, dependence upon God, and 
wise and happy relations with his scholars, will leave an 
impression never to be lost. 

5. Apply the truths of the lesson, so far as they are 
applicable, to the individual heart and conscience of the 



148 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

class. Other things being equal, the teacher who makes 
the most direct and personal application of the truths of 
the lesson will have the greatest influence over his class. 
A lesson is of no great value to a scholar unless it sticks 
to him, or is twisted into his nature To impart knowl- 
edge is only a part of the teacher's work. That is nec- 
essary, but to get it back again as by a response or re- 
bound from the pupil's own conscience and heart is the 
measure of his success. It is vastly better for the child 
to show him how to think, and then see that he does it, 
than to do his thinking for him. In the one case he may 
be filled with knowledge, but in the other he has that 
knowledge which to him is power. 

Mistakes — Notwithstanding their intentions, teachers 
are liable to make mistakes in their teaching. To guard 
them as far as susrorestions can do it, attention is directed 
to some errors which should be avoided. 

1. Attempting to teach without the most careful and 
prayerful preparation. No teacher has the right to come- 
before his class with undigested material, or unmeditated 
thought, or in a light and frivolous spirit. 

2. Taking lesson notes into the class. Study them as 
carefully as you can at home, and then leave them there. 
The teacher should be more than a parrot. 

3. The routine use of printed questions. These are 
designed to be suggestive of what is in the lesson, and 
helpful in its preparation, but not to be slavishly followed. 
Learn to frame your own questions. 

4. Taking things for granted. Take nothing for grant- 
ed. Test the knowledge of the pupil by repeated ques- 
tions, and be sure that he clearly sees what is taught. 



THE SUN DA Y SCHOOL. 149 

5. The failure to memorize the Scriptures on the part 
of teachers and scholars. No one can compute the loss 
to a person who has not '-hid the word in his heart." 

6. The failure to cultivate the art of communicating 
knowledge. 

7. Failure to commend and encourage pupils when they 
do well. A word of kind recognition in this direction 
will sometimes turn the entire current of a life. 

8. If you really have love and interest in your class do 
not fail to express it. 

9. Be patient, polite, and affectionate in word and man- 
ner. It is a mistake not to be so. 

10. The too common neglect to make the direct per- 
sonal application of spiritual truth. 

With the principles of teaching clearly in the mind ; 
with the methods of teaching well mastered ; with these 
errors avoided ; and with a heart and mind wholly con- 
secrated to Christ, there can be no failure. "The full 
force of teaching and example will go one way." 

VI. — How to Win and Hold Attention. 

Nothing is more essential to success in study or teach- 
ing than attention. 

A person may have other elements of successful teach- 
ing in a large degree, but if this one is lacking his power 
is greatly limited. Attention is largely the creature, or 
result of habit, and will. It is difficult for even adults to 
give strict and undivided attention to a question; it is 
more difficult for children. 

Definition.— Attention is the voluntary fixing of the 



150 - THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

mind upon a subject, an object, or an idea about which 
we desire to learn more. 

The three prerequisites of successful teaching, so far as 
attention is concerned, are — 

1 . Power in the teacher to fix Tiis own mind upon the 
subject to be taught. v 

2. Power to arrest the attention of his pupils, and to 
direct them to himself as their teacher. 

3. Power to transfer the attention of his pupils from 
himself to the subject in hand. 

The attention which the teacher secures on the part of 
his pupils must be a voluntary attention in order to be 
useful. It must be such an attention as will inquire after 
more, and never be satisfied until its questions are answered. 
Such a voluntary and inquiring attention will generally be 
a persistent attention. It will hold on to the teacher in 
the class ; and be sorry that the time for study has passed 
so soon; and it will continue to think upon what has been 
taught. 

How to Win It. — There are conditions upon which 
success is based. Much depends upon the place of meet- 
ing, good ventilation, bodily comfort, protection against 
interruption during the exercises of the class. 

On the part of the pupil there must be a personal re- 
gard for the teacher, either for his personal, moral worth, 
or for his recognized ability to instruct, or both ; and some 
preparation made in advance of the recitation. The 
teacher must be the master of his subject — fully prepared, 
so that his eye may be free to watch every movement of 
his class. He must have more knowledge of the subject 
than is necessary to present in the single lesson. In this 



THE SUN DA Y SCHO OL. 151 

way lie will be ready for any questions which may be asked 
of him. He must have enthusiasm for his work, a glow- 
ing eye, a delight in his work, all indicative of the fire 
which burns in his own heart. 

There is mighty energy in a positive and vigorous will. 
The teacher's will-power must be exercised before his 
class. It is a decided help in winning attention. His 
instructions must be adapted to the conditions, tastes, and 
needs of the pupils. The language which is most familiar 
to them must be the language he speaks, and his ability 
to move their hearts will depend upon his knowing in 
what they most delight. His sympathies for them must 
be warm and tender. Nothing attracts like the gentle 
courtesies which we render to those who look upon us as 
leaders of their thought, and as main-springs to their 
moral and spiritual activities. 

Methods. — There are various methods which may be 
employed for winning the attention. 

1. The manner in which a lesson is read. The elliptical 
plan is a good one. 

2. The analytical plan of studying a lesson, calling for 
the persons, places, dates, doings, doctrines, duties, is very 
good ; because it gives every one something to do. 

3. The use of illustrations — anecdotes and pictures. 
The following incident will show the value of a pictorial 

illustration. A young teacher was placed in charge of a 
large class of undisciplined mission boys. They were 
bright and intelligent, but wild and thoughtless, and some- 
what demoralized by unfortunate efforts at teaching. The 
new teacher found it difficult to hold them even for a 
moment. On a certain Sunday the lesson chanced to be 



152 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

" Moses 7 Choice " Its leading thought was embodied in 
these words: "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the 
people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a 
season. " The note-book was taken out and the teacher 
sketched quickly, yet roughly, a pair of scales. Moses 
was thus represented as balancing the matter in his mind. 
He put in the one scale riches, honor, position — maybe a 
kingship, all that a son of royalty in that proud empire 
could inherit, or a Pharaoh could bestow; in the other, 
poverty, oppression, toil, perhaps continual bondage, with 
the favor of God and the consciousness of rectitude. The 
last was shown in Moses' estimation to far outweigh the 
other. It was a simple device, but it proved successful. 

4. By exciting curiosity. Set the pupils to wondering 
what this or that may teach. 

This was illustrated by a celebrated political orator whom 
we once heard. The audience was in a large hall in the 
second story of a high block of buildings. The orator 
began as follows : "If a competent civil engineer, in whom 
you all had confidence, should stand on the platform 
where I stand to-night, and declare to you that this 
building was in danger of falling, and then proceed to 
give the reasons for his declarations, there is not a man, 
woman or child here who would not give the most earnest 
attention to his words." The result was just what was 
intended ; curiosity was excited to know how that state- 
ment could have anything to do with a political discourse; 
the attention was won and held until the close. 

To Hold Attention. — It is one thing to gain the at- 
tention, but it is another thing to hold it when once it is 
gained. This must be done by being able to sustain the 



THE SUN DA Y SCHOOL, 1 53 

interest already excited. Real and continued interest 
must have some substantial basis If the teacher would 
interest his class he must be thoroughly interested him- 
self. Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm ; energy inspires 
energy ; like produces like the world over. 

We have given adaptation as one of the conditions of 
success. It will be seen that if the lesson is narrative 
that the story must be taken up with more or less of de- 
tail. The features of beauty and interest must be brought 
out in a vivid and graphic manner. The pupils should be 
called upon to turn to other parallel or analogous narra- 
tives, and the points of difference or resemblance pointed 
out. If the lesson is historical , another method of treat- 
ment will be demanded. If geographical, then by the 
use of map and diagram the pupil's interest will go on 
unflagging until the close. Recapitulate and review fre- 
quently, and, especially, when the classes are composed of 
young scholars. It is an inspiration to a child to grasp 
clearly a new idea. He feels as if he were of some con- 
sequence, and he reaches out after the reward which fol- 
lows victory. 

If the principles and methods which we have suggested 
are thoroughly mastered by the teacher, and if his own 
heart is filled with an enthusiasm for his work, he can not 
fail to reach a high standard of success. 

VII. — Illustration and Questioning. 

Illustration. — It is a question whether there can be 
any really effective teaching without illustration. Ordi- 
nary minds, at least, are not interested in the general or 
abstract forms of truth; but they are usually delighted 



154 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

with the concrete or particular form. The mind delights 
in analogies; hence the importance of the use of object, 
pictorial, and illustrative teaching. The object method 
appeals to the eye, and consists in presenting to the eye 
any object, picture, or map, which will aid the pupil in 
the understanding of the subject presented. " The eye 
— the king of senses— remembers. " By seeing and hear- 
ing we understand, and remember better than by simply 
hearing. By the power of association, the object recalls 
to the mind the lesson taught. 

Objects and pictures should be correct, and the subject 
of instruction should never be lost sight of by their mul- 
titude. It is to illustrate the lesson — bring it out more 
clearly — and not to smother it, that objects and pictures 
are used. 

The word-method appeals principally to the imagina- 
tion, and consists — 

1. In the description of Bible scenes and events, in a 
manner so graphic and life-like as to present to the 
mental vision a clearly outlined picture of the circum- 
stance or narrative under consideration. 

2. In the illustration of abstract truths, by means of 
mental images or pictures —such as anecdotes, historical 
facts, parables, etc., for the purpose of imparting correct 
knowledge and leaving vivid impressions. 

Perhaps there is no better analysis of the object of il- 
lustrations than the following : 

1. Decorative. — They render truth more attractive in ap- 
pearance, and thus enable the teacher to gain the atten- 
tion of the scholar — the first thing necessary in teaching. 

2. Illuminating. — They make the subject more clear, 



THE SUN DA Y SCHO OL. 155 

and give the scholar a better understanding of the truths 
taught. 

3. Permanency. — They are an aid to the memory, and 
leave the impression of the truth more permanently fixed 
in the mind. 

In the selection of illustrations the teacher should be 
careful to ascertain their absolute fidelity to the truth to 
be taught. Illustrations should never tell lies. They 
should never be used in the class — except for illustrative 
purposes — never for the sake of telling stories; nor sim- 
ply because they are beautiful stories. They are to be 
used as aids in explaining and impressing the truth, and 
never as substitutes for it. 

There is no better book than the Bible to study as a 
model and example, as well as authority, for illustrative 
teaching. 

Collect illustrations from reading, from nature, art, 
science— everywhere and anywhere — and have a scrap 
and note book in which to preserve them for future use. 
The power to illustrate well, like every other power, grows 
by exercise. As the habit of finding illustrations is per- 
severed in they will occur more and more readily, until 
the attentive eye and the believing heart will find them 
everywhere. 

Questioning. — It is no mean acquirement to be able 
to question skillfully. In the long catalogue of things 
acquired there is hardly one that should be set higher. 
Instruction may be given without its use ; but, to verify 
the results of instruction, there is no other way than to 
resort to its aid. It is said of Dr. Archibald Alexander, 
of Princeton, that his prodigious influence on the Pres- 



156 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

byterian Church in the United States was not due so 
much to his lectures in the theological seminary, nor to 
his published theological works, but to his wonderful 
power as a catechist. 

Questions have four principal uses. 

1. To gain attention by ascertaining what the pupil 
knows. Under this head no question should be asked 
which can be answered by yes or no. 

2. To give instruction. The teacher, who would ques- 
tion his class so as to impart the greatest amount of in- 
struction, must have his subject well studied, and have it 
thoroughly in hand. Such questions are of a suggestive 
character — they suggest rather than tell what is in the 
lesson. Enough must be told in the question to bring 
the subject within the reach of the pupil. "But the 
perfection of such questioning is attained when nothing 
is told which the pupil can discover for himself. What 
one tells him is charity, what he gains for himself is a 
conquest." 

3. To be certain that the instruction rendered is cor- 
rectly understood. An old maxim for teachers is: "Never 
give a piece of information without asking for it again." 
The third use of the question is to get back again what 
you have given. This is really a combination of the two 
preceding ones. It serves to test the fact as to whether 
the original knowledge of the child, or the knowledge 
which he had when he began to recite the lesson, has 

- been clearly added to the instruction which the teacher 
has given. Questions like these are used in reviews, in 
which we call back, ia the pupil's own language, what has 
been leiirned, and recapitulate the whole. 



THE SUN DA V SCHOOL. 157 

4. To confirm and make permanent the knowledge ac- 
quired Objections may be made to what the pupil has 
given as his knowledge of the subject, and he be required 
to give the reason for his answers. 

It will suggest itself, however, to a wise teacher that 
he should be careful, in presenting this class of questions, 
not to go beyond the power of the child to answer; un- 
less, as in the questions of the second class, the answer is 
suggested in the question. 

Socrates had the reputation of being a very great 
teacher; yet he never lectured nor preached, but he used 
questions with tremendous effect. It is said of him that 
he believed that the great impediment of true knowledge 
was the possession of fancied or unreal knowledge; and 
that the first business of a philosopher was, not to teach, 
but to prepare the mind of the pupil for the reception of 
the truth by proving to him his own ignorance. This he 
did by skillful questioning. In the use of this most val- 
uable method of teaching, success has not been wholly 
gained until the scholars are able and willing to ask ques- 
tions as well as ready to answer them. 

When this end is reached the bond of union between 
the teacher and pupils is complete, and they become 
mutual helpers in seeking after truth. 

VIII. — The Blackboard. 

The years are not many since the blackboard was first 
used in the Sunday-school; but lately it has greatly ex- 
tended. Its value is not only appreciated by superin- 
tendents, but also by teachers and preachers. Some of 



158 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

the most effective preachers we know make use of it con- 
stantly in their preaching. 

The development of this form of present'ng lessons is 
not due to any one person, but principally to its intrinsic 
•merits. 

At first the blackboard was used to delineate the 
boundaries of countries, the course of rivers, and other 
topographical features of the lesson ; then for memoranda 
of important points in the lesson ; until it has now be- 
come one of the most prominent and effective instruments 
in the Sunday-school work. It is true that there are ob- 
jections to its use. These objections come principally 
from two classes of persons, viz : 

1. Those who object to everything in the Sunday- 
school, and even to the school itself. It would not be 
expected that they would find no fault. 

2. But there is another class of intelligent, progress- 
ive, and earnest Sunday-school workers, who, from some 
unfortunate experience with it, have come to regard the 
blackboard with suspicion, if not with absolute contempt. 

Now, it is quite possible to misuse and abuse any good 
thing ; but it does not follow that it should not, therefore, 
be used at all. 

It would be a sin to charge the unoffending blackboard 
with all the astonishing " exercises" which have been 
chalked upon its surface. A prominent trouble with 
blackboard exercises is that the operator tries to make a 
great many points, instead of concentrating his labor, and 
the attention of his auditors and spectators, on one or 
two. Some try to put on the blackboard all that they 
know about the subject they are trying to explain. 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 159 

"This confuses the hearers, crowds the blackboard, and 
wastes time, patience, and clialk" 

So far as a lesson is concerned the blackboard can be 
used — 

1 To arrest the attention. 

2. To concentrate on leading ideas. 

3. To impress truth — historic and geographical. 

4. To give a topical or elliptical outline of the lesson. 

5. And for the purposes of review, special or general. 
It may also be used in making announcements, and in 

eliciting answers from the school. 

By its use the attention of the whole school may be 
called, at any time, to one subject. The attention se- 
cured by the blackboard is more intense, and may be held 
for a longer time, than without it It thus aids the 
memory and makes the instructions more lasting. 

If any of our readers desire to perfect themselves in 
the art of using the blackboard, or desire the teaching 
of an accomplished artist, we know of nothing better 
than Cl The Blackboard in the Sunday School," by Frank 
Beard, Esq. It can be ordered of any bookseller. 

IX. — The Library. 

The methods adopted for the management of the library 
are as numerous almost as the schools, and there is no 
method that I ever heard of that does not involve some 
practical difficulties. It is very much like getting mar- 
ried — every one has his choice. 

In regard to the selection of the books for a Sunday- 
school library, some rules should be adopted as a guide. 



160 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Seven years ago Dr. John S. Hart recommended the fol- 
lowing: 

1. Take no book that is carelessly written. 

2. Take no book that is weak and trashy in substance. 

3. Take no book that contains erroneous doctrines. 

4. Take no book that recommends, or countenances, 
what is of doubtful propriety. 

5. Take no book that is dull and prosy. 

6. Take no book that is above the comprehension of 
the scholars. 

7. Take no book that requires coaxing to induce the 
scholars to read it. 

8. Take no book the interest of w T hich depends, in any 
considerable degree, on love and matrimony. 

9. Take no book that is not distinctly religious. 

10. Take no book whose religious teachings are not 
scriptural. 

If the above rules were strictly carried out, in the se- 
lection of books for the Sunday-school library, my opin- 
nion is that it would not be at all necessary for me to 
write anything in regard to its management. 

There are now about ten thousand different books in 
the market, from which selections are made for Sunday- 
schools, and others are continually coming into the market. 
Notwithstanding the immense issue of Sunday-school ju- 
venile papers and periodicals, still the book-press is run- 
ning night and day to supply the almost insatiate craving 
for more books — new books. 

It is one of the things that will have its time and 
season, and will not down at the bidding of any one. It 



THE SUN DA Y SCHO OL. 1 6 1 

becomes necessary, therefore, to say a few tilings in re- 
gard to the management of the library. 

1. Use every precaution to select only good and whole- 
some books. 

2. Get only a few at a time, and let them be thoroughly 
read before others are supplied. 

3. To find the best method of distributing a library, 
go to the nearest place where there is a good library, 
under good management and see how they do, and then 
adopt their system, with such modifications as you see fit. 
This practical information will be better than a hundred 
pages, concerning methods, written in books. 

4. With these suggestions, we leave this question to 
be settled by the best sense of those who have a library 
to manage. 

X. — Reviews. 

Value. — A single view of a lesson is not sufficient to 
fix it lastingly in the memory ; hence, the necessity of a 
review. Xo one can tell whether he has real knowledge 
upon any question until he attempts to give it out again. 

It is what we retain after repeated efforts that makes 
us wise and intelligent. No soldier is a veteran simply 
because he has fought one battle. The ox fills his great 
outer stomach with almost everything within his reach ; 
but it is only in rumination — the ox method of review- 
ing — that this miscellaneous filling becomes bone and 
muscle, hide and horns of the great beast. 

In our study we gather material for our intellectual 

and moral stimulus from every source accessible to us ; 

but it is only by review and meditation that it becomes a 

portion of our mental and moral treasure. 
14 



1 62 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Purpose. — The purpose, therefore, of a review is two- 
fold. 

1. The direct, which is to preserve knowledge. Truth 
is fostered in the mind by frequent repetition. It is the 
only method by which we can successfully test the knowl- 
edge of a scholar. "I know, but I can't tell, 77 is a very 
common way of escaping the charge of ignorance. The 
fact is, that what a person thoroughly knows he can tell. 
He may not be able to express himself elegantly, but he 
will express himself so that it is clearly seen that he 
knows. 

2. The indirect purpose, which is to perfect the knowl- 
edge which has been gained. It is a rare thing to get a 
full view of truth on a first examination. The mind 
needs to call it up again and again ; to repeat it line upon 
line; to meditate upon it— to think it through and 
through. This is specially true of Scripture questions. 
A celebrated student of the Bible once said that upon a 
first reading of a passage of Scripture that it seemed to 
him that there was not much in it ; but when he read it 
over and over, and over again, and "bent over' 7 it in medi- 
tation, and looked at it from every side, it finally became 
so clear, and beautiful, and gem-like, that he could not 
help thinking that an angel had been down between times 
and stitched in some new leaves. "Even a fine painting 
or a piece of sculpture must be often seen to be fully ap- 
preciated. Its novelties dazzle or confuse the mind. As 
when we enter a strange house, we know not where to 
look for the several apartments, and the articles of inter- 
est and value — even a familiar guide can only point them 
out to us — we need to return again and again, and observe 



THE SUN DA Y SCHO OL. 1 63 

tli cm with eyes grown familiar to tlie place and light; so 
one rarely re, urns to an old book or lesson without find- 
ing much that is new and valuable which escaped the first 
study. At every review we approach the lesson from a 
new point of view. We come with a different aim and 
feeling, and bring with us the light of some new knowl- 
edge. 

Besides these two main uses of the review, there are 
secondary results. These may be summarized in substance 
as follows : 

1 . The unity and harmony of a series of lessons is pre- 
served. 

2. It helps forward those who are, from any cause, be- 
hind in their classes. 

3. In making the truth familiar, it becomes more and 
more attractive. 

4. It is the surest test of proficiency in the scholars. 
Frequency. — Every lesson should be reviewed briefly 

at the close of the recitation by the teacher; the entire 
school should be reviewed by the superintendent. Where 
a series of lessons are studied in a school having a direct 
relation to each other, there should be a monthly, quar- 
terly, and, finally, a yearly review. 

No good review can be had without the most careful 
thought and preparation. A lesson will not review itself. 
A few hints in regard to the preparative for review are 
here given. 

1. Get the material for review, by faithful study, week 
by week. 

2. Decide upon some plan for review, and arrange your 
material accordingly. 



164 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

3 Make your programme too short, or, in other words, 
do not attempt too much. Take a few leading points and 
make them clear. 

Then will the review fulfill its purpose, and be like a 
good story, well told, full of interest. 

XL — Sunday School Programmes. 

A Sunday-school is not well furnished until it has a 
good programme of exercises. The arrangement as to the 
length of time which such exercise shall occupy is not 
marked, as that will depend upon special knowledge which 
can not be anticipated ; such as the length of time devoted 
to Sunday-school work^ the character of the school, and 
the character of the lessons to be studied. 

The following are given as good specimens : 

Programme I. 

1. Whatever may be the time selected for opening the 
school, begin on time. '-Tardiness is. the unpardonable 
sin in school management." 

2. Singing. 

3 Prayer by the superintendent. 

4. Singing. 

5. Reading the Scripture lesson, either alternately, el- 
liptically. in concert, or by the superintendent. 

6. Classes go to their places, and the teachers call the 
class-roll, and take the class contribution. 

7. Study of the lesson in the classes. (Time, 35 min- 
utes.) 

8. Review of the lesson by the superintendent. 

9. Singing. 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 165 

10. Notices, closing exercises, and benediction. 
Time for the school one hour and fifteen minutes. 

Programme II. 

1. Perfect silence. 

2. Invocation (very brief). 

3. Singing. 

4. Recitation of the Titles, Topics, and Golden Texts 
of the current lessons up to the day's lesson by the whole 
school. 

5. Review Catechism (10 minutes) ; embracing the 
main facts of the quarter's lessons up to the day's lesson. 

6. Class studies (35 minutes). 

7. Review of the day's lesson, with practical application. 

8. Two minutes catechism on the books of the Bible, or 
some other general question. 

9. Report of secretary. 

10. Announcements for the week, always including 
preaching, weekly prayer-meeting, teacher's meeting, etc. 

11. Singing. 

12. Books and papers distributed. 

13. Silence. 

14. Dismission. 

The length of the whole session one hour and thirty 
minutes. 

Programme III. 

1. Roll-call of teachers. 

2. Recitation by the whole school (Twenty-third Psalm). 

3. Invocation. 

4. Singing. 

5. Reading selected Scripture (alternately). 



1 66 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

6. Singing. 

7. Prayer. 

8. Heading the lesson (in concert). 

9. Lesson study — -40 minutes. 

10. Singing. 

11. Review — 10 minutes. 

12. The Lord's Prayer — repeated by all. 

13. Dismissal —by classes. 

14. Teachers' prayer-meeting at the close — 20 minutes* 
The length of the whole session two hours, including the 

teachers' prayer-meeting. 

Programme IV. 

1 . Singing. 

2. Responsive reading : 

Supt. — "Know ye that the Lord Jie is God: it is he 
that hath made us, and not we ourselves ; we are his peo- 
ple, and the sheep of his pasture " — Psalm c. 3. 

Teachers. — "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to 
anger, and plenteous in mercy." — Psalm ciii. 8. 

School. — "Seek ye the Lord while he maybe found, 
call ye upon him while he is near." — Isaiah lv. 6. 

Supt. — " God commendetlf his love toward us, in that, 
while w T e were yet sinners, Christ died for us." — Romans 
v. 8. 

Teachers. — "He that spared not his own Son, but de- 
livered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also 
freely give us all things ?" — Romans viii. 32. 

School — "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the 
uttermost that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth 
to make intercession for them." — Hebrews vii. 25. 



THE SUN DA Y SCHO OL. 167 

Supt. — " He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek 
him." — Hebrews xi. G. 

Males. — "So teach us to number our days that we may 
apply our hearts unto wisdom." — Psalm xc. 12. 

Females — " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of 
knowledge." — Proverbs i. 7. 

Males. — " Thy word is a lamp unto my feet." — Psalm 
cxix. 105. 

Females. — "And a light unto my path." — Psalm cxix. 
105. 

Males. — "Order my stsps in thy word." — Psalm cxix. 
133. 

School. — "Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, 
and that seek him with the whole heart." — Psalm cxix. 2, 

Supt. — "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness : for they shall be filled." — Matthew 
v. 6. 

3. Prayer. 

4. Reading the lesson. 

5. Singing 

6. Report of the secretary. 

7. Notices, teacher's mark attendance, collection. 

8. Study of the lesson. 

9. Review. 

10. Distribution of papers. 

11. Singing. 

12. Closing responsive reading. 

Supt. — " Here have we no continuing city." — Hebrews 
xiii. 14. 

Scholars, — "But we seek one to come." — Hebrews xiii. 
14. 



1 68 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

Sup't. — "Blessed are the pure in heart." — Matthew v. 8. 

Scholars. — " For they shall see God." — -Matthew v. 8. 

Sup'L — "Blessed are they which do his commandments, 
that they may have right to the tree of life, and may en- 
ter in through the gates into the city." 

13. Benediction. 

Whole time one hour and* forty minutes. Responsive 
readings at the opening and closing of the school may be 
made very profitable for a change. Any good superinten- 
dent can prepare them. 

XII. — Miscellaneous. 

There are many things, of more or less importance, 
which belong to the management of Sunday-schools, of 
which it is impossible to treat extensively in such a work 
as this. There are many things for which it is not pos- 
sible to frame rules which will apply in all cases. 

The principles which we have laid down, and have 
elaborated to some extent, will guide the intelligent and 
wise Sunday-school worker in all these questions of a 
miscellaneous character — such as Sunday-school music; 
anniversaries; closing schools, either in winter or in sum- 
mer; treatment of new scholars; starting new schools 
and mission schools; visiting the scholars ; classifying the 
scholars; the teacher's week-day life, etc., etc. 

In this wonderful field of Christian activity — the Sun- 
day-school — no person should engage unless he can say, 
with the great Apostle, in truth: "I know whom I have 
believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that 
which I have committed to him against that day " That 
means no wavering in faith in God and his word — a sub- 



THE SUNDA Y SCHO OL. i 69 

lime trust in Him who is, and who "is a Rewarder of 
them who diligently seek him." 

There are some passages of Scripture which may ap- 
propriately be called 

" Texts for Teachers.' 

1. The Teacher's Commission. John xxi. 15: "Feed 
my lambs." 

2. The Teachers Motive. Matthew xxv. 40: "Inas- 
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these 
my brethren, ye have done it unto me." 

3. The Teacher's Responsibility. Hebrews xiii. 17: 
" For they watch for your souls, as they that must give 
account, that they may do it with joy, and not with 
grief." Romans xiv. 12: "So then every one of us shall 
give account of himself to God." 

4. The Teachers Strength. II. Corinthians iii. 5: 
"Not that we are- sufficient of ourselves to think any- 
thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." 
Philippians iv. 13: "I can do all things through Christ 
which strengtheneth me." 

5. The Teachers Preparation. II. Timothy ii. 15: 
"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman 
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the 
word of truth." 

0. The Teacher's Success. Psalm cxxvi. 6: " He that 
goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall 
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves 
with him." t 

"It is a beautiful thing to model a statue and give it 
life; but to mold an intelligence, and instill truth therein, 
15 



170 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

is still more beautiful." Sunday-school teacher, this is 
your work. May your u sheaves" be many, and your joy 
be full 

XIII. — The Religious Nature of a Child. 

It is assumed that there is in every child a religious 
nature. It is a proposition which will hardly admit of a 
doubt, either, from any one who has made man and his 
experiences anything like a careful study. From the 
savage, in his mud hut, to the most intelligent of kings 
or philosophers — all along the line of human life— there 
is a recognition, by man, of some Being to whom wor- 
ship or supreme reverence and respect is given. 

While the great, wise, and loving God and Father of 
the Christian may not be "in all their thoughts," yet 
there is something — be it moon, or star, or sun, or wave, 
or wind — to which he gives reverence and bends his 
spirit. 

A full appreciation of this fact has much to do in in- 
spiring Christ'ans to the grandest efforts in behalf of the 
proper development and culture of this gift to the uni- 
versal nature of man. 

How to develop this religious nature, so that it shall 
respond to the highest demands of infinite wisdom, love, 
and promise, is the serious question to which all parents 
and Sunday-school workers are invited. 

The Bible idea of development is an education based 
upon the word of God — a knowing of the Holy Scrip- 
tures — and the exhibition of the principles learned, in a 
life whose perfected stature is after the model of the 
perfect man — Christ Jesus. 



THE SUN DA Y SCHOOL. 171 

First of all, God gives the command to teach. This is 
the first thing to be done with the child that is born. 

"And these words which I command thee this day shall 
be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently 
unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sit- 
test in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, 
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." 

"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, 
lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, 
and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy 
life ; but teach them thy sons and thy sons' sons." 

Before a child can keep the law of God it must know 
the law of God. It can not know it unless it is taught, 
Teaching is, therefore, at the very foundation of all re- 
ligious development. The law was given as a guide— a 
leader — to something far beyond the legal and transitory 
— perfected manhood, through the transforming power of 
a religious principle. The law was given that the mem- 
ory might hold within its grasp the knowledge of God, 
and the mind have something upon which to feed in its 
hours of reflection and meditation. 

In the second place, God commands to train. "Train 
up a child in the way he should go ; and when he is old 
he will not depart from it." "Withhold not correction 
from the child." "And ye fathers, bring them up in the 
discipline and instruction of the Lord." The period of 
training is that period wherein the law is put to use, and 
the principles which have been taught before are put into 
practice. The child is not to be left to himself, but is to 
be guided and led by the hand that rocked his cradle. 



172 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

How true it is, "A child left to himself brings his mother 
to shame." 

By use the arms and limbs of the child's body become 
strong; and what is that but the discipline which God 
has ordained for the body's development? 

By the use of the word of God in soberness, and 
righteousness, and godliness — by prayer, by giving, by 
meditation, by thanksgiving, by labor — the soul is de- 
veloped, the religious nature grows as by the ordinance 
of God ; the conscience becomes sensitive to the touch of 
the Divine Spirit, and responds to the word spoken from 
heaven, as the waves of the ocean give heed to the in- 
fluences which are above them. 

But there is still another step in this development. 
The best of teaching and training will result only in the 
production of the intelligent and vigorous mind, and the 
lion-like heart. There is needed yet the graces — the 
adornments for this religious nature— the garments of 
praise, the gentleness and docility of a nature not defeated, 
but subdued by a power which, while it brings every 
thought into captivity with it, still fills the heart with a 
power that can conquer everything, but that by which it 
was conquered — can conquer, easily. 

God commands growth in grace — culture. "Whatso- 
ever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, what- 
soever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, what- 
soever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good 
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 
think on these things." "That our sons may be as plants 
grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as 
corner-stones polished after the similitude of a palace." 



THE SUN DA Y SCHOOL. 173 

It needs orily to be suggested to be admitted that home 
has very much, if not the most, to do in the develop- 
ment of the religious nature of a child. Home has the 
first opportunity. The first visions of any future possi- 
ble to it are from the home. To the child 

The hand that rocks its cradle 

is the hand that moves the world. 

The parental power, for the time being, is mightier than 
the word of God, on the arm of angel or devil. 

The impressions made in the family will last forever. 
Hence the necessity of forming right habits at the be- 
ginning, such as private devotions— a person will be none 
the less a monument of God's grace, if he has been trained 
to pray from his mother's knee — in love for family devo- 
tions; in love for the services of the Church of God. 

The Sunday-school teacher is an important factor in 
the solution of this question. He has more than the 
power of father or mother sometimes. His sense of re- 
sponsibility, therefore, should be as acute as that of the 
parent. He is permitted to lead into wider fields, than 
can be traversed in the circle of home, the soul whose 
possibilities are eternal. 

The Church has its duty in the premises. It must 
look upon those who come into its membership in child- 
hood as children. Its services ought to be arranged with 
reference to their wants. 

In no grander work can this divine tr'nity — the family, 
the school, the church — co-operate than in giving ideas 
to childhood, and in culturing them to their perfect fruit. 

" There is nothing so admirable in all the world as the 



174 ' THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

power of an idea." To possess a great, good idea is to 
have a mission, a knowledge of duty, a clear path, an in- 
spiration, and finally an eternal triumph. 

The purpose of all that we have written in this book 
has been to outline the methods by which this teaching, 
training, and culture of the religious nature can be carried 
on in the family, Sunday-school, or Church. Happy will 
be our own hearts, happy will be the world, happy will be 
the angels, happy will be all heaven, if our hearts shall be 
so perfect, and our labor so faultless, that God can say of 
us, as he did of Abraham : " I know him, that he will 
command his children and his household after him, and 
they shall keep the way of the Lord." 



RELIGIO US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. 1 75 



THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 

There is truth in the following statement from the 
pen of an accomplished and careful American thinker 
and writer: 

" There is much that is excellent in the literature prepared 
for American children : there is much of parental culture and 
Sunday-school instruction ; and the go -d people of the country 
are doing a great deal to train up a generation of virtuous men 
and women." 

Unquestionably, this is true; and yet it is only a part 
of the whole truth on the subject of the religious edu- 
cation of children. The wisdom of this world has been 
severely taxed to provide the means, and point the way, 
to the perfect stature of manhood ; but it has failed, be- 
cause it has failed to observe one of the necessary con- 
ditions to such a development That condition is the 
recognition and use of the principles and art of the 
divine wisdom in the nurture and discipline of children. 
In this chapter we shall have more anxiety to find out the 
"right way of the Lord" than to learn even the best 
lessons of human philosophy. Unless we mistake, we 
shall examine every passage in the Bible which bears 
upon the question— at least, every class of passages. 

We propose the following order of investigation: 
I. The parental or family element. 
II. The Church school. 

III. The divine method. 



176 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

I. The Parental or Family. 

When we speak of the "religious education of chil- 
dren," we have reference to an education that is based 
upon the teaching of the Bible; an education that will 
include the "knowing of the Holy Scriptures," as the 
result of careful study; also, the exhibition of the prin- 
ciples learned, in a life whose perfected stature is after 
the model of the perfect man, Christ Jesus. 

Very much of what is called religious education finds 
its summit when it has reached the element of morality; 
hence it is that so frequently men who have exhibited 
the grace of correct morality are counted among those 
who have gained , the very highest exaltation to which 
the Bible calls them. But this can not be true, if the 
words of the Apostle in Titus ii. 12, have any definite 
meaning: "We should live soberly, righteously, and 
godly in this present world." 

By a comparison of the "best man of the world" 
with the "best member of the Church," we find a con- 
dition of things, morally and spiritually, like this: 

(a) The best man of the world "denies ungodliness 
and worldly lusts;" so does the best man in the Church. 

Qi) The best man of the world lives "soberly and 
righteously;" so does the best menrber of the Church. 

And here the comparison ends ; for one step more 
and the worldling becomes a Christian. Morality in- 
cludes nothing more than a denial of "ungodliness and 
worldly lusts," and a living "soberly and righteously" in 
this present world. And all this could be done without 
scarcely a thought of what God requires in the heart. 
Men demand this much in their noblest characters; but 



RELIGIO US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. 1 77 

God requires more than this. In the religious edu- 
cation of which we are writing, the element of "godli- 
ness" must appear as the crowning factor in God's law of 
growth. It is the gem of a perfect religious education. 
Hence, the Christian 'adds godliness" to all else that 
he may possess, and his character can never be complete 
without it. 

The parental or family element or influence in the 
religious education of children is of primary importance. 
It can not be superseded or supplanted by any other 
agency. The relation of parents and children is, in- 
deed, the golden theme of the Bible. In the Old and. 
New Testaments, the word "children" is found not less 
than five hundred and twenty-eight times. They may 
be classified as follows : 

First Group —"Children," where the word is used in 
its generic sense. 

Second Group — "Children of God," where the word 
is used to represent an unusually near relationship to 
God. 

Third Group — "Children of men," an expression used 
in contrast with the expression, "Children of God." 

Fourth Group — "Little Children," referring to either 
spiritual or physical stature, according to the connection 
in which the expression is found. 

These four classes, or groups, include all the uses of 
the word in the Bible. 

The family is God's primal institution for the early 
religious education of the children. Whatever can be 
said in favor of the Church-school, or the agency of the 
pulpit — and much can be said in favor of both — the fact 



178 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

above stated must never be lost sight of by Christian 
parents. Nowhere can the beautiful graces of the divine 
life be made to appear to such advantage as in the home 
where, from wise teachers, children have received that 
instruction which is wise, and been nurtured in the 
"unstained childhood of the soul." 

The language of the Bible is very direct and decisive 
to parents in regard to their duty to their children. The 
feeling of the true parent is expressed in the beautiful 
words of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, when God had 
revealed unto him the fact that his wife should bear to 
him a son : "0 my Lord, let the man of God which thou 
didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we 
shall do unto the child that shall be born!' In the 
eighty-eighth Psalm, the following language is found: 
" For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed 
a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that 
they should make them known to their children; that 
the generation to come might know them, even the chil- 
dren which should be born who should arise and declare 
them to their children; that they might set their hope 
in God, and not forget the works of God, and keep his 
commandments, and might not be ss their fathers a stub- 
born and rebellious generation; a generation that set 
not their hearts aright, and whose spirit was not stead- 
fast with God." This language is very explicit in its 
directions to the Jewish family. The Jew was always 
taught that children, instead of being an incumbrance, 
were a "heritage of the Lord;" and they were to be 
trained in the faith that " children should praise the 
name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his 



RELIGIO US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. 1 79 

glory above the earth and heaven." Again, Isaiah 
xxxviii. 19: " The living, the living, he shall praise 
thee, as I do this day; the father to the children shall 
make known thy truth." 

The Apostle Paul, in II. Corinthians xii. 14, in a sug- 
gestive sentence, expressive of the relation of parents 
and children, uses this language: "For the children 
ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for 
the children." This is as true of spiritual or religious 
things as of temporal. Again, in Ephesians vi. 4: "And, 
ye fathers, stir not up the anger of your children ; but 
bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the 
Lord." (Noyes's Translation.) Christian fathers were to 
furnish their children with a religious education, under 
the solemn sanction and commandment of the Lord. To 
the same effect is the teaching of Colossians iii. 21 : 
" Fathers, provoke not your children, lest they be dis- 
couraged." 

In Deuteronomy vi. 6-8, Moses, in speaking to the 
nation as if it were a single person, says: "And these 
words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine 
heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy 
children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in 
thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and 
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." 

To secure the perpetual remembrance of God's ways, 
judgments, and commandments, it was required that 
parents should "tell your children of it, and let your 
children tell their children, and their children another 
generation." — Joel i. 3. 

To Israel God said, Deuteronomy xxxii. 46, 47: "Set 



180 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

your hearts unto all the words which I testify among 
you this day, which ye shall command your children to 
observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a 
Tain thing for you; because it is your life." 

These passages, from the Old and New Testaments, 
are clear and distinct in their utterances. They teach 
one lesson. Parents can not escape the plain and direct 
commandment of God which bears upon the duty of 
training their children in the "discipline and instruction 
of the Lord;" in other words, to furnish them with a 
religious education. 

There is no time like childhood for this work. The 
"evil days" have not yet come, when children can say: 
"We have no pleasure in knowing and serving God." If 
men and women are expected to be Christians of the 
"noble sort," their education for that sublime position 
must begin in the days of childhood and youth. " Their 
submission to the law of Christ, both in faith and con- 
duct, should be so gently instilled ss to become like an 
unconscious or instinctive direction of the whole char- 
acter. This would be Christian nurture, the true re- 
ligious education." 

We admit the difficulty of this great undertaking; yet 
it is a duty none the less because it is difficult, and to 
recognize it is, at least, one step toward its accom- 
plishment. 

In these days we hear a great deal said, from platform 
• and fireside, about leaving the minds of children un- 
biased. The teaching is: "Leave the children untaught 
upon all religious subjects, until they have arrived at the 
years of discretion — whenever that is — so that they may 



RELIGIO US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. 1 8 1 

choose for themselves, and decide upon all disputed ques- 
tions without prejudice." But this is the very thing 
that God commands us not to do. There will he a lias 
given to a child's Uje. God knows it, and so do we. 
Hence, the fearful power of choice is not given to the 
mere child in years or knowledge; but to him whose 
heart has been trained and mind taught that there is 
a "highway of holiness," and a " way that leadeth unto 
death." Instruction is for the child; training is de- 
manded; a God-ward culture is required. If children 
are not biased in favor of a godly life, and their hearts 
pointed " to a region of infinite purity and love, where 
all that is good and happy is parted off by itself, and 
hangs above us like a firmament of grandeur and beauty," 
does it follow, therefore, that they go into manhood or 
womanhood without bias? Certainly not. Rather is it 
true that every Satanic influence has sweep, with noth- 
ing to hinder its fearful power, until the day when the 
" awful power " of choice is given, when, the whole course 
of life having been biased by evil, it is nothing less than 
a marvel if the choice is not downward "to a region 
where sin in its hideous shape sinks away to its own level, 
and seeks the hiding-places of a starless night." It sounds 
very like human wisdom — this talk about an unbiased 
choice. But the eternal mandate of divine wisdom thun- 
ders, No! It is an impossible thing. Such language 
sounds like liberality; but it is the expression of miser- 
able ignorance or infernal indifference; nay, worse even 
than that, it is the absolute defiance of the teaching of 
common experience and the plain reasoning of the word 
of God. Christian parents, under the solemnities of that 



1 82 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

complete and voluntary transfer of all they have and are 
to Christ, must "bring up their children in the discipline 
and instruction of the Lord." 

Very likely we may be asked: "Would not this make 
them believers in Christ by an authority which they can 
hardly resist, and from which they can afterward hardly 
escape? Does it not settle the question for them before 
they are in a position to choose for themselves, that Jesus 
is a divine teacher, and his doctrines a divine command?" 
In the language of one who has evidently given this 
question due consideration, we reply: "Unquestionably 
it does, and unquestionably it is what we are bound to do. 
If there are any who care so little about religion as to wish 
their children to be left so free that they are as likely to 
be infidels as believers, heathens as Christians, their liber- 
ality goes so far beyond my own that there can be no sym- 
pathy between us. If they do not concede that religion 
of some sort or other is a necessity, and that the purest 
and best religion of which we know any thing is the Chris- 
tian, and the purest morality that which Christ taught, 
there is no common ground for us to stand upon. But if 
this is admitted — if we must have some religion, some 
object of worship, some divinely sanctioned law, and if 
the Christian religion and the Christian law are the best 
of which we know — it follows, surely, that we are bound, 
by the love which we bear to our children, and by our re- 
sponsibility for them to God, to spare no pains in bringing 
them to that which is conceded to be the noblest and the 
best. Unquestionably, they would be brought by such a 
course to be Christians; and that is precisely the result 
we would secure. Let the divine principles of the gos- 



RELIC 10 US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. 1 S3 

pel bc'oncc thoroughly instilled into the youthful char- 
acter, let the divine beauty of the life of Jesus be once 
revealed to the youthful heart, let the divine truths 
which Jesus taught once take possession of the youthful 
mind, and skepticism, although it may in after years dis- 
turb the thoughts, will never be able to enter the citadel 
of the soul, or to disturb its unchanging faith. Once 
having lived upon the heavenly food, we must be indeed 
prodigals to desire the husks that the swine do eat. And 
if through the waywardness of sin we become prodigals, 
the memory of our early home remains, until we say in 
our heart, 'We will arise and go to our father ' ! 

This early instruction can not be eradicated. The 
character has been formed by it; and, by the grace of 
God, the "life in Christ" has been made incarnate in the 
soul. With such a duty resting upon them, and in view 
of the fearful responsibility, well may parents exclaim: 
"Who is sufficient for such things?" We can only reply, 
in the language of the Apostle: "Thanks be to God who 
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
The path of duty and responsibility, though rugged, must 
be climbed; and, if parents travel it with unflinching con- 
fidence in God, their feet will stand upon "those sun- 
smit summits where the tempters never come — above all 
cares and troubles, above even the clouds and the thun- 
ders, where they catch the pure gleams of the land of 
peace and have the earnest of its blissful refit.". 

II. We are now ready to consider the Church-school, 
in its relation to this subject. This institution comes 
next after the family in the list of agencies provided by 
divine wisdom for the purposes of religious discipline 



1 84 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

and instruction. The root-idea is suggested in the fol- 
lowing passages from the Bible: Deuteronomy iv. 10: 
''Gather me the people together, and I will make them 
hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the 
days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they 
may teach their children." Again, Deuteronomy xxxi. 
12, 13: "Gather the people together, men, women, and 
children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that 
they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the 
Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this 
law: and that their children, which have not known any- 
thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, 
as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan 
to possess it." 

The great gathering of the people together, mentioned 
in the above passages, was once in seven years — "At the 
end of every seven years." It was not so much, pri- 
marily, for the information and instruction of the people 
as it was a typical or symbolical transaction, intended, as 
so many others were, to impress on the people the con- 
ditions on which they held possession of their privileges 
and blessings. 

But one thing is worthy of notice; it was to be done 
in the presence of the whole congregation. Besides this 
general reading of the law "at the end of every seven 
years," there were the regular schools, which were open 
on every Sabbath day. 

The synagogue service consisted (1) of public prayers; 
(2) the reading of the Scriptures; (3) and finally, the 
expounding of the Scriptures and preaching from them. 
At these services, men, women, and children were present. 



RELIGIO US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. 185 

Besides the regular synagogue service, there were other 
times, also, when children could come and receive instruc- 
tion from the Rabbis, one or more of whom were con- 
stantly in the synagogue to give the instruction needed. 
The provision for the religious instruction of the Jewish 
children was most complete. 

In the schools taught in the synagogues, the youth 
received instructions in the divine law. In the temple, 
as well as in the synagogues, assemblies of learned men 
were held ; in one of which the parents of Jesus found 
him sitting in the midst of doctors, both " hearing them 
and asking them questions, and all that heard him were 
astonished at his understanding and his answers." If the 
Jewish economy was a "prophecy and type of the Chris- 
tian dispensation" (and much of it is so, without doubt), 
and if "these things were written for our instruction," it 
will not at all surprise us if we find much of the method 
and forms of these services illustrated in the example of 
Christ Jesus and his Apostles. The history of the prim- 
itive Church has much of a direct or incidental char- 
acter bearing upon its practice in this particular. 

From Luke iv. 16-22, we learn something of the method 
of our Savior. He acted as reader of the Scriptures, and 
also as teacher or preacher in the synagogue at Nazareth. 
Paul also, as we learn from Acts xiii. 14-16, went into 
the synagogue at Antioch, in Pisidia, and taught the 
audience which gathered there out of the Scriptures. 
One of the gifts to the early Church were "teachers." 
From the voluminous history of Mosheim there are a few 
paragraphs which we may extract with profit. He says : 

" In these assemblies, that i?, the Lord's-day meetings of Chris- 
16 



1 86 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

tians, the Holy Scriptures were publicly read, and for that pur- 
pose were divided into certain portions or lessons. This part of 
divine service was followed by a brief exhortation to the people, 
in which eloquence and art gave place to the matured and fer- 
vent expression of zeal and charity. The prayers, which formed 
a considerable part of the public worship, were introduced at 
the conclusion of these discourses, and were repeated by the 
people after the bishop or presbyter who presided in the service. 
"When the Church began to flourish and its members increase, 
it was thought prudent and necessary to divide Christians into 
two orders, distinguished by the names of believers and cate- 
chumens. The former were those who had been solemnly ad- 
mitted into the Church by baptism, and, in consequence thereof, 
were instructed in all the mysteries cf religion, had access to all 
the parts of divine worship, and were authorized to vote in the 
ecclesiastical assemblies. The latter were such as had not yet 
been dedicated to God and Christ by baptism, and were, there- 
fore, neither admitted to the public prayers, nor to the holy 
communion, nor to the ecclesiastical assemblies. Baptism was 
administered to none but such as had been previously instructed 
in the principal points of Christianity, and had also given satis- 
factory proofs of pious dispositions and upright intentions. 

11 The methods of instructing the catechumens differed accord- 
ing to their various capacities. To those in whom the natural 
force of reason was small, only the fundamental principles and 
truths, which are, as it were, the basis of Christianity, were 
taught. Those, on the contrary, whom their instructors judged 
capable of comprehending, in some measure, the whole system 
of divine truth, were furnished with superior degrees of knowl- 
edge, and nothing was concealed from them which could have 
any tendency to render them firm in their profession, and to 
assist them in arriving at Christian perfection. The care of in- 
structing such was committed to persons who were distinguished 
for their gravity and wisdom, and also by their learning and 
judgment. Hence, the ancient dtctors generally divide their 
flock into two classes: the one comprehending such as were 



RELIGIO US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. i S7 

solidly and thoroughly instructed; the other, those who were 
acquainted with little more than the first principles of religion. 
"The Christians took all possible care to accustom their chil- 
dren to the study of the Scriptures, and to instruct them in the 
doctrines of their holy religion; and schools were everywhere 
erected for this purpose, even from the very commencement of 
the Christian Church." 

Thus we see that abundant and generous provision was 
made, not only among the Jews, but also by the early 
Church, for the religious education of the people, chil- 
dren and all; and if we would reproduce the primitive 
Church in its power and fervor, we must reproduce the 
Church-school, an agency which more than any other 
public method filled the early Christians with unquench- 
able enthusiasm, fervent piety, and unyielding faith in 
Christ. It was never thought, then, to be an unprofit- 
able investment, either of time or means, to provide for 
the public training of children to a degree which could 
not be reached by even the best parental or family in- 
struction. The progress of the child of Christian parents 
was from the fireside teaching of the conscientious parent 
to the Church-school, and finally into the Church, the 
grand university of God from which no diploma of grad- 
uation was ever given until the verge of this earthly life 
was reached, and the candidate prepared to receive, on 
the basis of a "well-ordered life and godly conduct/' the 
fadeless honors of a triumphant graduation into the 
blessed fellowship and service of heaven. So should it 
be now; so are we seeking to have it in our attempts to 
make the modern Sunday-school a blessed and powerful 
agency in the study and teaching of the word of God to 
those who may have no other means of learning the 



1 88 THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

divine will; tbose of indifferent or wicked parents; those 
who are poor and needy, and especially the children of 
Christian parents, a class that ever ought to be, by the 
thoroughness and carefulness of parental and Church- 
school instruction, known as the " children of the 
Church." 

The Church-school of to-day has before it splendid 
opportunities and a kingly future. It is able to do a 
parent's work for orphans, and for those whose homes 
are silent on religious matters. 

It can and will bring the gospel to great multitudes 
who couM not, at the first, be persuaded to attend the 
public preaching of the word. '-It proposes to inaugur- 
ate the Church with all its appliances, where hitherto 
unknown, and especially re-establish the religious in- 
fluence of home." 

No man this side of the great judgment day can pos- 
sibly measure its influence, if such indeed be its work. 
And no Church can be sinless, and not do its utmost to 
make the Church-school a powerful agency in the re- 
ligious education of the children within its reach. A 
Church is guilty of a gross neglect of its duty if it 
allows any child to grow up in irreligion, whom it has 
the means of reaching and reclaiming. And what is true 
here of the Church is true of its members individually. 

But this responsibility of the Church to look after a 
child by no means relieves the parents from their respon- 
sibility in regard to the same child. If the child is lost 
and God holds the Church guilty for the loss, it does not 
follow that he will hold the parent guiltless It is a case 
of double responsibility for the same object. The object — 



RELIGIO US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. 1 89 

the salvation of the child — is so important that God puts 
it under double guard. It is like taking two indorsers 
to a note; the failure of one indorser does not exonerate 
the other; the holder has his remedy equally against 
both, and thus the fulfillment of the obligation is better 
secured. 

Everything about us and within us indicates that this 
life is preliminary and preparatory. It is a " segment 
and not a circle, and all its consenting voices make up 
one grand prophecy of something to be hereafter." Child- 
hood, youth, manhood, and age, are only successive waves 
in the river of years, that rolls onward its mighty waters, 
till they stir the vast ocean waves, whose throbs beat on 
forever. The family, the Church-school, and the Church, 
embrace the forces which God in his wisdom has provided, 
by which the humblest may reach the summit of the 
mount of God, and with the noblest enjoy him forever. 

III. The Divine Method. 

The discussion on this branch must be brief. We have 
already shown the importance of early religious education, 
and the necessity of its being carefully attended to by 
parents and by the Church. It remains for us to notice 
the divine method in the prosecution of this work. It 
appears to us, that nothing can be truer— and it has been 
our conviction for years — than that the religious charac- 
ter formed by early education is stronger and better than 
that which becomes good only by conversion. Considered 
as an education for practical life, it is far better and more 
worthy of reliance. The love of God should be a natural 
affection, and obedience to the daw of Christ, the common 
law of the household. To use a figure drawn from land 



igo THE STANDARD MANUAL. 

transactions, the children ought to be pre-empted for 
God, from the beginning of their life. 

With the mass of mankind, as at present we find them, 
conversion — that is, a turning from sin to holiness, and 
from Satan unto God — is absolutely required, in order to 
present or future happiness. But the entire theory and 
practice of conversion points to the stupendous fact that 
" ail have sinned," all have come short of the glory of 
God. It is easy to say that this condition of things 
ought not to be so ; but how to prevent it now, or how 
to have hindered it at first, nothing but infinite and 
supreme intelligence can answer. The divine method, 
which demands the early training and nurture of chil- 
dren into a true faith and obedience to God, is, without 
doubt, the only true method Religious faith must be 
made of the earliest instincts of children— the law of 
their moral and intellectual life. 

The mother ought to be " a great teacher" sent from 
God ; for she, above all others, holds the eternal destiny 
of her child in her hand 

The family, like a fully rounded orb of light, should 
be the brilliant sphere from which the purest and serenest 
light for the earthly pathway, and to the land of immor- 
tality, should radiate. The parental relation should be 
recognized as a religious guardianship, and all the teach- 
ing, by father or mother, should impress the les on 
of reverence toward God. Such a family would be to its 
children a fountain of life — a departure from the snares 
of death. Such a mother would be " like the merchant's 
ships, she brings her food from afar." 

When such a method is pursued in the family, then 



RELIGIO US ED UCA TION OF CHILDREN. 1 9 1 

will the cause of Christ cease to languish, and Zion be 
filled with the fragrance of her bursting roses. Sincerity 
would take the place of insincerity, the mere formality 
of religion cease, and the spiritual, which is its practical, 
life appear. Our young men would become our religious 
men, and our daughters would grow, in their youth and 
beauty, into the polished columns of the temple of God. 



& v 



